Crescent Embrace
by revelatum
Summary: Post-war, in universe: Sasuke returns to the village after travelling for 2 years. He assumes not much has changed but his presumption is quite the opposite as he learns that a lot has changed. Especially when it comes to a certain Hyuga. [Sasuke U. and Hinata H.]
1. Chapter 1

Author's notes: Hi guys, this is my first sasuhina fanfic so please bear with me. I would appreciate all sorts of feedback!

This story mainly centers around Sasuke and Hinata, as well as some one-sided Naruhina and there will be future Kibaino moments (There might be other pairings as well) . I've set the story 2 years after the events of chapter 699, so it may appear to be following the canon story line. However, I can assure you, the plot is very different from canon. Furthermore, I've tried to make the characters as in character as possible. Especially in Sasuke's case where he seems more open about his thoughts at the end of chapter 699. So I've tried to find a balance where Sasuke converses more and his thoughts are very personal, yet he still maintains a cynical personality when needed. Anyway enjoy :-)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto but I do own many Naruto merchandise.

_italics are for the character's personal thoughts._

Chapter 1:

Through his long raven-haired bangs, Sasuke saw the Hokage monument come into shape. Six faces –_So the idiot wasn't Hokage. _ This information did not surprise Sasuke as Naruto was still young. In another few years his face would be up there. _Tch_. That realisation irked Sasuke; it would be as if Naruto was always watching. These last two years spent alone felt like a nice break from his loud-mouthed friend. He would never admit it – that Naruto was his closest friend – but he was sure that the idiot knew. Sasuke smirked proudly remembering the hardships both he and Naruto faced in the past. Adulthood however would be the next hardship for the two of them. There was just so much that needed to happen, from Naruto becoming Hokage to him and Sasuke discussing the reforms to the shinobi system. To rebuilding the Uchiha district and somewhere along the lines the both of them had to start their own respective families. Sasuke grimaced, a family required finding a wife and finding a wife required searching for a decent woman who met his standards. _Shit. _ He had not sat down and thought heavily on his desire to restore his clan. _Leave it alone and think about it later Sasuke. Just think about it later. _

"Tch. Still guarding the gates," Sasuke noted as he strolled right through. For a moment he intended for it to be a question but his arrogance forced it to be a statement. He definitely did not give a damn about those two Chunins – Izumo and Kotetsu. A question implied that he did and he hated beating around the bush. The brunette seemed to not change his appearance at all and the one with the spiky black hair still donned a strip of bandage across the bridge of his nose. Sasuke deduced that the latter still looked as idiotic as ever.

The two village guards both looked up irritated, "Who the hell –"

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at the two Chunins. Feeling pleasantly nice he activated his sharigan and rinnegan to assist them at guessing who he was. The recognition occurred in matter of seconds that the two guards were flabbergasted. They then stammered out there apologies. Sasuke didn't really care but it felt good knowing his superiority could cause that. Sasuke smirked, the knowledge of this felt equivalent to a room of silence - _fucking amazing_.

Kakashi Hatake leaned back into his chair with a sigh. The mass amount of paperwork the Hokage role induced was beyond his imagination. _No wonder why Tsunade kept sake in here. _ Kakashi ruffled his white hair as he leaned forward to his desk. He opened the draws hoping to find at least some sake.

"Tsunade-sama beat you to it already Hokage-sama. She emptied out all the draws that contained sake. She didn't miss a single drop."

Kakashi leaned back into his chair again. Shizune's revelation did not help his tiresome mood one bit. Moreover, she walked straight to his desk only to dump even more paperwork. _Great._

Shizune laughed quietly at his sombre expression. "Oh, Izumo and Kotesu sent a message."

"Oh?"

"Uchiha Sasuke has returned to the village."

Sasuke hesitated as his hand begun to twist the doorknob to Kakashi's office. Shizune had walked past him earlier, greeted him and told Sasuke to head straight in. _Tch._ Sasuke had purposely walked slower in order to avoid meeting with his old sensei. He wasn't in the mood to deal with neither Kakashi nor Team Seven. He needed rest and silence. After that he would sought them out. However, Sasuke knew that word would have reached Kakashi of his arrival. If he did not come now, Kakashi would only cause trouble for Sasuke later. Sasuke gripped the doorknob and gritted his teeth. _Let's just get it over and done with._

Kakashi Hatake looked up from his Icha Icha Paradise novel and waved at Sasuke with a crinkled eye, "Yo."

Sasuke closed the door and leaned against the nearest wall. He observed Kakashi turn a page of his perverted novel as he leaned back into his chair. Sasuke observed the numerous stacks of paperwork that flooded the office. It was still quite bizarre to see him as Hokage. Kakashi after all did not suite sitting behind a desk. _Neither would Naruto, he's way too energetic._

"You know, I expected you here an hour ago," Kakashi looked up at Sasuke and smiled. "You're not picking up my habit of being late now, are you?" He teased.

"I got lost on the path of life," Sasuke mocked with a bitter tone.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes "Using my own excuses, very funny."

Kakashi snapped his book closed and leaned forward, resting his head on his hands. Taking it as signal that they were going to talk properly, Sasuke stood up straight and walked closer to the desk.

"Firstly, we need to discuss your rank. Technically, you're still a Genin and in normal circumstances you would need to take part in the exams in order to be promoted to the rank you're qualified for. However, taking into consideration of your past status as a missing-nin and then your travels, your situation is anything but normal. So I'm giving you the same option I gave Naruto – jounin or anbu?"

"Anbu."

"You'll do well in the Anbu," Kakashi replied, "now don't think this is some sort of special treatment. It's mainly a precaution for other shinobi, after all both you and Naruto's abilities are at Sannin level or higher. We don't want an unintentional death on our hands."

Sasuke could agree with Kakashi on this. He was highly aware that both he and Naruto were the strongest shinobi in the world. Other villages would be insane to start a war with Konoha since there man power was tremendous. Speaking of tremendous power, Sasuke thought of his pink haired team mate.

"Sakura's a Sannin," he stated. He remembered her immense strength in the war. She truly had become a respectable and formidable kunoichi.

Kakashi raised his eyebrows, "I'm aware of that…" he trailed off until he realised what Sasuke was implying.

"Oh. Well, Sakura was already a chunin during the war. It was only natural she was promoted to jounin shortly after."

Kakashi's initial shock to Sasuke's subtle question was not a surprise. After all, Sasuke was acclaimed to be a heartless bastard. Sure, he was cold and cynical most of the time but there were some people who were fortunate to be granted his kindness or interest.  
He would be disappointed if Sakura was not a jounin. She had long ago surpassed Tsunade as a fighter and as a medical ninja. Her power reflected the years of rigorous training. It would be a waste to not commend that. She deserved that at least from him. Satisfied with that information, Sasuke grunted giving permission to Kakashi to carry on.  
Kakashi then began to explain that since Naruto was out on a mission for a week or so, Sasuke would stay with Kakashi until he returned. Sasuke scowled, that would mean an intense spar with Naruto would have to be postponed. _If you can survive for two years without an intense spar, you can last a week. _He pinched the bridge of his nose, repeating his thought as mantra.  
He then discussed the prosthetic arm Tsunade had made for Sasuke was still available. He reinforced the pros of the arm, explaining that Naruto had no problems with it. Kakashi even had the guts to say that he highly recommended it. _Tch._ Sasuke already knew the pros of having the arm. He had even considered it quite a bit before he left two years ago. Yet Sasuke chose something far more valuable over the pros. His severed left arm served as a constant reminder for the one bond in his life that was constant – Naruto. He was eternally grateful for everything that idiot had done for him. He believed he hardly deserved the bond he and Naruto shared. Nonetheless, Naruto was the closest thing he had to a friend. That would always remain the same just like his severed arm.

"So, as promised the Uchiha district has been untouched. Rebuilding can commence whenever you wish."

Sasuke watched as Kakashi pulled out some papers from a draw. "Here," Kakashi handed him the papers which included a map of the land owned by the Uchiha's, as well as the previous outline of all the buildings in the district. "You can start from scratch or build a replica of the district."

Sasuke glanced at the papers quickly before folding them up and stuffing it into his pockets. He would think about rebuilding later. There was something else he had to do first in his mental to-do list.

"Hn," Sasuke turned around to leave and then paused. He turned his head around slightly to eye his old sensei, "Kakashi…where's Sakura?"

Kakashi stood up from his chair and walked over to Sasuke, "Working. She's a very busy woman. Here," Kakashi handed Sasuke a folded piece of paper, "It's the address of my home. There's a spare key under the mat."

Before he knew it Kakashi had pushed Sasuke out of his office. It felt nostalgic to be treated like a child. Yet it was also infuriating. As he walked down the stairs of the Hokage building, Sasuke came to a conclusion: Kakashi had not changed at all.

With his hands in his pockets, Sasuke walked through the village searching for Kakashi's house. It was awfully hot and he could feel the sweat dripping from his hair. His bangs had grown severely long, covering most of his forehead and tickling his nose and eyes. He had been too lazy to trim his bangs before returning. He would have to cut them tonight with his kunai. Sasuke flicked his head a little, ridding some of the sweat. He looked down at his poncho. _I'll have to get rid of that as well. _ During his travels the poncho had its uses but now he was no longer travelling and it was inexcusably scorching.  
Sasuke made a turn into one of the busy streets of Konoha. He hated crowds. It involved too much noise, too much bickering and too much talking. It lacked silence. Unfortunately, this was the only apparent way to Kakashi's apartment. Sasuke thought about jumping from building to building. However, that would only gain unnecessary attention he did not want. Sasuke continued on his way, thankful that no one had recognised him yet.  
Sasuke made his way through the busy street, avoiding any eye or physical contact. He was almost at the end of the street when something caught his eye. Sasuke turned his head quickly to glance at what caught his vison. He smirked, proud of what he found. Making his way to it, his smirk quickly became a faint smile before diminishing to his infamous scowl.

"I'll take four tomatoes."

The old lady at the stall nodded her head and began to gather his tomatoes. It had been a while since he had sunk his teeth into his favourite food. His stomach began rumbling quietly at the thought of the juicy tomatoes. Sasuke pulled out some money from his pocket, giving it to the old lady. However, she gasped at realising whom he was.

"What?" Sasuke hissed.

The old lady smiled at him before answering, "I thought you looked familiar. You have the exact same face as your mother," she frowned, before returning it to a smile, "she used to always buy my tomatoes – she said it was her son's favourite. " The old lady bowed suddenly, "Thank you for your efforts in the war. We all appreciate it."

Sasuke nodded at the old lady as she stood up straight again. She gave him his tomatoes in a bag and he left abruptly, unsure of what he was feeling. In the past, Sasuke's defection had caused people to see him as a traitor to Konoha. Yet the old lady had said 'we all appreciate it.' This sudden change of atmosphere annoyed Sasuke. He did not expect people to 'thank him'. _Tch._ Sasuke decided he would ponder about this later. He swung the bag of the tomatoes over his shoulders. The old lady's revelation of his mother had triggered memories of his mother's cooking. He closed his onyx eyes for a second, relishing in the memories of his family.

That of course was a huge mistake as he walked into the back of somebody. The person gasped and Sasuke deduced it was a timid woman as she gasped silently. Sasuke opened his eyes to regard her as she turned around to face him. The two were so close that her face was centimetres away from his chest. Sasuke looked down at her and came to two conclusions: firstly, she was tiny. Secondly, her elegant, lavender yukata meant she was well-off and unfortunately for her he could see her big breasts. _Okay, so maybe that was three. _ She tilted her head up and their eyes met. Sasuke was correct to assume she was shy as she blushed profoundly. Sasuke smirked as she stepped back from him immediately. The woman ensured that it was a good enough distance for Sasuke to not look down her shirt. She brought her hands in front of her and looked up at Sasuke immediately. Her lavender eyes met with his onyx.

"Hyuga," he scowled.

Please review as it would make my day/night :-)


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's notes: **

**This fanfiction itself is dedicated to one of my best friends, Lara. Without her constant encouraging and help it would not exist but merely be a story in my head.**

**Thank you to Ryuujin96, Robotchick1, misao97, Gagster, crystalblue19**** for reviewing. Also thank you to those who have favourite and followed this story. Also cheers to all the guest reviewers xx**

**First of all, ****Ryuujin96 enquired about whether or not Naruto is main character since the story centres around Sasuke and Hinata. Naruto plays a MAJOR role in regards to Sasuke and Hinata's relationship. Although, he won't pop up into the story til later, Naruto's significance is a plot device itself.  
Secondly, Gagster pointed out that Sanin, is not a ninja rank. I am fully aware that it is a term and not a rank. However, Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto are regarded to be the new legendary trio. If you refer to chapter 634, "Minato acknowledges the trio, stating that this is the new three-way deadlock summoning leading Hiruzen to remember his students and acknowledge that it was truly the dawning of a new era." – Naruto wikia page. Due to how I've worded it, it does suggest it as rank. Apologies for that.**

**Lastly, this chapter includes one of my favourite interactions between Sasuke and Hinata! Please note that a person can change quite a lot in 2 years and that will be evident in Hinata. She's still the same Hinata we all love but she's grown to be more confident which is natural. She's not a stuttering mess (which many fanfics unfortunately make her out to be ugh). However she's also still shy in some situations!  
Moreover, there is a particular scene which I'm not sure how others will take it as Sasuke may seem OOC? I'm not sure but please bear with it as it HAD TO HAPPEN. I'll address it at the end of the chapter. **

**Anyway enjoy the chapter and you all know I don't own Naruto. **

**Chapter 2:**

Sasuke pressed his lips together into a thin line, "you shouldn't stand in the middle of the road" he spat out.

She narrowed her eyes, tilting her head. It appeared the Hyuga was just as annoyed as he. He couldn't blame her; Sasuke after all was at fault. However, he would never admit that. Especially to this random Hyuga woman whom thought she was regal enough to stand in the centre of the street. _Pretentious girl. _ As if realising whom he was, her eyes became wider. They were already big enough Sasuke noted but her astonishment made them even wider. The girl stood up straight and opened her mouth to retort. Yet, Sasuke found another voice speaking at him.

"That's Hyuga-sama to you. Who do you think you are duck butt? Addressing the Head of the Hyuga clan like that," she scoffed, "maybe you should walk with your eyes open!" The girl crossed her arms as she stood in front of the apparent Head.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at her. He felt tension in his neck – _she fucking insulted my hair._ Sasuke Uchiha had been called many things: a traitor, murderer, monster, bastard and so on. But not once had he ever been called **_that_****. **Sasuke sneered at the younger girl, just who in the hell was she? They looked a little similar he noted. Where they cousins? Or sisters?

The older girl frowned slightly at the younger girl. She placed a hand on the younger one's shoulder forcing the little girl to turn around and face her. With her chin lifted up, the elder one looked down her nose to other girl. Sasuke corrected his initial impression of the woman. She was shy but had a sense of superiority and confidence. _What a strange woman._

"Hanabi-chan, you should not speak to Uchiha-san with such rudeness, you -"

The elder girl narrowed her eyes as Hanabi scoffed. Hanabi threw up her hands in the air and dismissed his presence as she waved her hands. "Onee-san, I don't care if he's –"she paused. Hanabi turned around slowly, looking at Sasuke before blushing. He noted that Hanabi blushed just as badly as her older sister. He rolled his eyes. He never thought girls could blush this badly. The younger girl muttered something incoherent to his ears to her elder sister. She scurried off without sparring him a second glance.

Now that it was just the two of them Sasuke observed the Head of the Hyuga properly this time. Her long indigo hair cascaded just above her rear. Her bangs were styled in a hime cut. She looked familiar.

"I apologies on behalf of Hanabi-chan. She has a bit of crush on Uchiha-san –"

Sasuke scoffed, "She doesn't even know me."

The girl narrowed her lilac eyes at Sasuke. It was then Sasuke realised she found great displeasure at being interrupted.

The girl turned away from him to stare at something else. "That's true. I suppose she respects you."

Her eyes turned to meet Sasuke's and they stared at one another for a few seconds. The woman then laughed awkwardly, bringing her hands to her mouth. "Sorry," she bit her lip, turning her head back to fully face him again.

_Hyuga Hinata. _He placed her name on her face the moment she bit her lip. _That god damn lip bite. _He would never forget that irritating habit of hers. Two years ago before he had left the village, he had been sparring with Naruto. His sharigan was still active when the Hyuga had approached them. He had zoned out, positive that she had come to ask Naruto a question, not him. He glanced at her for a second and unfortunately it happened to be the moment she bit her lip. It was irritating because her lips were so appealing and she ruined them by that awful habit. Her terrible habit had been ingrained in his mind.

Hinata then smiled at him, "Ah – well, I'm sure Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan are pleased to have you back."

Sasuke shrugged, "Hn."

She sighed, understanding that the conversation was fruitless. The Hyuga bowed, not too low nor too high. It was just right to express her position and his. Sasuke watched her, uncaring to return to the bow or offer any words. She walked away, almost brushing past his shoulders since the streets became even more crowded. She then stopped and giggled. Hinata whispered something only his ears could hear.

"Uchiha-san, you really should walk with your eyes open."

After she left Sasuke felt the tension in his neck subdue. He was beyond pissed at the Hyuga girl. Her words of farewell were mocking him. She had known the entire time that Sasuke had his eyes closed. Yet she pretended she was clueless and at fault, only to practically rub it in his face that she knew all along. _Tch_. She looked harmless but Sasuke knew there was definitely more to her than meets the eye. _Speaking of eyes, she has no pupils whatsoever_ – which in Sasuke's opinion made her even stranger. He dismissed the fact that all Hyuga's visibly had no pupils. Everything about her was irritating. How could she be timid yet confident? There were hints of superiority **_especially_** with her parting words yet he easily observed that she also felt inferior in his presence. If she had refrained from lip biting he maybe would have over looked her inferiority towards him. _But she just had to bite her lip._ That annoyed Sasuke the most. A terrible habit he assumed she had been scolded on but could not get rid of. The only redeeming qualities were that she had nice lips but she ruined it by biting them. _So maybe not. _ She did have a nice figure and was attractive, _but lacked the confidence. _ She also knew to not pester him _but…no that was it. That's the only decent thing about her. _Yet in the end none of that mattered in Sasuke's mind. He scoffed, Hyuga Hinata, Head of the Hyuga clan. _What a joke._

Before he knew it, Sasuke had found Kakashi's apartment. He kneeled down and placed his bag of tomatoes on the ground. He then proceeded to stick his hand under the mat, searching for the spare key. Sasuke twitched – there was no key. _That bastard. _He thought about either breaking down the door or a window. However, he was positive Kakashi wouldn't appreciate it. He got up, heading to the nearest window to break it open.

"Sasuke-kun!?"

He paused. Even after two years her voice had not changed. He turned around to lock his eyes with wide emerald eyes. She had grown a little in height he noted. She wore a lab coat, her cherry hair was tied up and there was sweat dripping down her face. She looked flustered and Sasuke was unsure whether it was from work or for his sudden appearance.

"Sakura," he replied.

She smiled and kneeled down to pick up his bag of tomatoes. "I didn't know you were back, Sasuke-kun. Kakashi-sensei mentioned you would be back soon, but I didn't realise that it would be…today."

Sakura walked over to him and handed him his bag. He took it and watched her return back to the door. He raised his eyebrows at her, confused by her actions. She then proceeded to fish out a key from her pockets. Noticing Sasuke's confusion, Sakura began to explain.

"I took the spare key and forgot to return it the other day. Since it was my break, I thought I might as well return it," she opened the door, slipping into Kakashi's apartment with Sasuke following after her.  
Once Sasuke closed the door behind him, Sakura turned to face him. Her face was red from embarrassment once realising her explanation only provided more confusion. Sasuke raised his eyebrow at her. He honestly didn't care if she and Kakashi were involved like **_that._** She was a grown woman and Kakashi was a much better person than him. If Sasuke were honest he would prefer that Sakura fell in love with a decent man rather than himself. However, even he knew that the relationship between his team mate and old sensei was merely familial and nothing else.

"No- I-it's not like that Sasuke-kun!" she stammered out. Sakura blushed and Sasuke realised that if blushing was a sport Hyuga Hinata would have come first place.

"I know." Sasuke moved away from the door and headed deeper into the apartment to explore. The kitchen was decently sized, including a small table to eat. Sasuke turned his head to the right, across was a living room with a variety of books that ranged from jutsus to Kakashi's perverted novels. He then peered down a hall which he assumed where the rooms and bathroom were located. Sakura now stood beside him and also looked down the hallway with a smile.

"I had the key because Kakashi-sensei asked me to prepare a room for you. That's all. My feelings for you haven't changed Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke sighed, "Sakura I –"

"It's okay Sasuke-kun. Really, I'm not asking for you to return my feelings. Sure – it would be nice but" she paused and glanced up at him, "all I want is for you to be happy, ne?" She walked forward down the hall, "come on, I'll show you your room."

He could hear her voice break a little in her statement. Sasuke understood the depth of her love for him but he also knew that he could not return it. Maybe if he had not pursued revenge perhaps he would have fallen in love with Sakura back when they were younger. _It's all in the past now though. _That was the thing – the past could not be erased.  
During his two years of travels Sasuke decided to sort out his feelings for Sakura. He knew he harboured feelings for her, _I care about her_ but it was not like that. She was family to him. He concluded that she was like a maternal figure – a sister or a mother. Despite all his bullshit and trying to kill her she had still found it in her heart to love him. There were no ulterior motives but to save him from the darkness and for him to be happy - _just like Naruto. _Even now as he watched Sakura walk down the hall, he could easily tell her words had been true. Her feelings for him had not changed.

"Thank you," he called out to her.

Sakura paused, turning around. She smiled and he knew it was sincere despite the tears beginning in her eyes. She was perhaps the only person he thanked a lot. Sasuke smiled at her, a rarity that only a few people had been blessed to see. He owed her his appreciation at the very least.

Hanabi Hyuga stared at her reflection in her black tea. She had grown out her long brown hair in a similar fashion to Hinata that it reached past her waist. She blew at the single lock of hair which fell directly at the centre of her face. Despite Hinata reassuring Hanabi that her little blow up at Uchiha Sasuke was nothing to worry about, Hanabi had still worried. _It's so embarrassing. _It was the first time she met someone she highly respected – as well as a crush – and she practically insulted him! _Stupid, stupid, stupid._ She pushed away the cup of tea, losing any interest towards it.  
She glanced at her onee-san, who sat across from her sipping her tea as she read a scroll. Hanabi would be lying if she said she was not jealous of Hinata. Her older sister was everything she aspired to be. Hanabi rested her head on her palm, watching Hinata read. She was flustered as the two of them had just finished sparring but Hinata had still managed to look enticing. Her long indigo hair was tied up in a messy, with wisps of it hanging out. Hanabi crossed her arms and slouched, _if I tried doing that it would end up as a complete disaster. _A proud smile graced Hanabi's lips, her onee-san was empowering.

"Naruto-kun will be home soon," Hanabi blurted out. She leaned back, waiting and watching for Hinata's reaction.

Hinata did not look up from her scroll or reply at all. Hanabi sighed, she did not understand. She had tried many times to start a conversation regarding Naruto but the topic had supposedly become taboo a year ago. A year ago, Hinata was in love with that blonde idiot. She was positive that Naruto also felt the same way. Yet there was something Hanabi was missing.

"He is always asking for you onee-san. I don't know what happened but –"

"I'm going to visit otosan." Hinata closed the scroll and stood up. She did not look at Hanabi at all as she left the room. Hanabi assumed that she and her sister had grown closer. Yet it was in moments like these that Hanabi felt further away from Hinata. A year ago Hinata had flipped as a person. It was as if Hinata knew something that Hanabi did not.

Hinata had changed into a simple yukata before she left the Hyuga compound. She had let down her hair and combed it thoroughly until it looked as neat as it could be. The elders would scold her if the Head of the clan presented herself in a dishevelled appearance. The only times they deemed it appropriate was during her training or on missions. The latter she did not take part in anymore due to her duties as the Head. Hinata sighed, pushing back a strand of her hair behind her ears. She missed being out in the field.

As Hinata neared her father, she bowed and kneeled down into seiza positon. Hinata reached out caressing his grave, "Hello Otosan." She smiled sadly at the thought that they had only become closer a few years ago. It still hurt to know he had suddenly died at the worst time possible. _Don't think about. Do not think about it Hinata. _

"It's been a year but I think I've finally gotten a hang of handling the elders. They are really stubborn - I'm not sure how you handled them… Hanabi is doing well. She recently became chunin, but I'm sure she already told you ne?" Hinata then continued to talk about other clan matters and the progress of both Hanabi and Hinata in their training. Once she was done she moved onto her mother's grave which was next to her fathers. It had been requested that the space beside her mother's grave would be left for her father when he passed on.

"Okasan, your garden is still blooming. Being the clan head though makes it more difficult to tend to the garden but Hanabi has taken an interest in it recently. She's a great help Okasan. I wish you two could have met… when I'm gardening with Hanabi, she reminds me of you."

Hinata bit her lip as she played with the hem of her yukata. Hinata then laughed nervously, hesitant about the next topic but continued anyway. "She's very brave ne? We were out in the markets a few days ago and we bumped into Uchiha Sasuke. He didn't address me correctly and Hanabi-chan raised her voice at him – I didn't care though. He never uses honorifics…It was the first time we've ever talked. Isn't that weird? Our districts are nearby but we've never conversed."  
Hinata smiled sadly, her voice dropping. "He must have been very lonely and isolated. What a heavy burden to carry, being the last of his clan… I think that's why he acts rude to others. So others won't be close to him. It's like a defence mechanism to avoid being hurt. I've only ever seen him be kind to his team mates. Ah – I still don't know what to do about Naruto-kun. What should I do Okasan?"

Hinata closed her eyes, releasing a breath she did not know she was holding. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew causing Hinata to open her eyes. She had stared in awe as the leaves danced through the air. Her lilac eyes followed the leaves until they fell on a hand that was resting on a grave. Hinata's eyes trailed down the persons arm until they found the strangers face. Hinata froze as she recognised who it was.

**The scene that I was referring to earlier was the scene between Sasuke and Sakura. I believe that Sasuke cares about Sakura but whether it was to the point of romantic love, I don't think Kishimoto expanded so well in that aspect. There were hints but yeah anyway.  
**

**There's a lot of things this chapter mentions such as the tension and distance between Hinata and Naruto. That will all be revealed soon. **

**ALSO PLEASE READ: I'm going away on holidays, so there is a 50/50 chance there will not be an update next week. I can't say for sure if I will be able to update. Anyway thank you for reading and please review xxxxx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: I didn't think I would be able to update this week since I'm on holidays but look at what we have here. I couldn't resist updating as many things come to light in this chapter (most of them are subtle and foreshadow certain things). **

**Reminder that ****_italics are for the character's thoughts_****. **

Chapter 3:

Hinata froze, almost terrified that **_he _**had heard her. She gripped them hem of her yukata, taking a deep breath in. Then out. Hinata had hoped to Kami that he had not heard her. They were ten metres apart but she was certain there was a slight chance he may have heard her._ Oh dear god, please don't turn around. _ After all, she was certain that his ears had been trained to hear the slightest noise just as her eyes had been trained to see the smallest of things. Suddenly, his head flipped around and his coal eyes met with hers. Hinata blushed, turning her head away immediately – Sasuke Uchiha had caught her staring. She peered back over to him and found his eyes on her still. She had planned to go to Neji's grave after to tell him about her progress in the removal of the branch seal. But as she continued to stare into the abyss of Sasuke's eyes she found herself unable to look away. For the first time, Hinata took the time to appreciate Sasuke's appearance. _He's so …handsome_. His jawline was so defined that Hinata had briefly wondered what it would be like to run her fingers down them. She noticed that he had trimmed his bangs. Although they still were long they had allowed his face to be seen more. He had discarded that awful looking poncho, allowing the eyes to appreciate his strong build. _His eyes though. _They were so dark, full of so much emotion that no one would be able to comprehend. The intensity behind his stare was enough for Hinata to be terrified of him. Uchiha Sasuke was a fellow dojustu user after all. He could kill her with one glance. That knowledge enough had stopped Hinata from entertaining herself with thoughts of the last Uchiha. She broke there stare off, looking in the opposite direction. She could feel the heat creeping up her neck. _Why did I just stare at him for so long? Oh Kami. _ Hinata exhaled, peeking back at to where Sasuke was except he was no longer in sight. Grateful that he had vanished so quickly, Hinata stood up letting out a sigh. She had no idea what would enfold if Sasuke had not vanished. He was a dark mystery waiting to be unravelled.

xxxxxx

Sasuke released a heavy breath as he collapsed onto the ground. He brought his arm over his eyes, covering the suns forceful blaze. Naruto fell beside him seconds after, releasing both a heavy breath and laugh. Sasuke let a small smirk creep onto his face. It felt nice to know Naruto felt the same way. A spar between them was just what they needed. Naruto had returned two days ago but there long awaited spar had only occurred today. Both he and Naruto had conflicting and busy schedules to adhere to now. Naruto with his missions and preparations of becoming Hokage, and Sasuke with his new job in the Anbu and going through construction plans for the Uchiha district. The two saviours of the world had been so preoccupied with their own lives that they had hardly spoken. Sasuke could not deny that it had been an intense spar but it was just what the both of them needed. The intensity of their spar allowed the two shinobi to release a lot of their stress on one another. Sasuke glanced down over his severely battered body, _Naruto was definitely stressed.  
_Sasuke sat up, reaching over for to fetch their water bottles.

He chucked one to Naruto, "Your girlfriend is weird."

Sasuke recalled their bump in the markets and that bizarre stare off at the cemetery. _What in the hell was that? _ He decided he would decipher that later.

Naruto caught the drink, processing the statement through his mind. Suddenly his eyes went wide, "Eh?!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, hating to repeat the statement. "Hyuga, she's strange."

Sasuke closed his eyes, bringing the brim of the bottle to his mouth. He drank the water, waiting for Naruto to retaliate and begin shouting at him for insulting his girlfriend.

"Oh."

_Oh? Fucking oh?_ Out of all the things to say, Naruto chose 'oh'. Sasuke had almost spat at out his water shocked by Naruto's response. He had planned to retort at Naruto however, upon turning around to face Naruto he decided against it. The bubbly blonde was solemn and miserable. His blue eyes that were normally filled with hope and happiness were void of that. Sasuke only saw despair and sadness.

"She's not my girlfriend." Naruto's voice was low, filled with regret.

Sasuke took note that Hyuga Hinata was a touchy subject from that moment on. _Something had happened between the two of them._ Sasuke was not sure what but it must have been **_something_** horrendous. After all, Sasuke recalled the two of them dating before he had left the village. Naruto had even asked Sasuke advice about how he should go about asking for her hand in marriage. _Naruto wanted to marry her. _That knowledge was alarming enough for Sasuke to know something had happened.  
Sasuke's concern must have been noticeable to Naruto as he immediately punched Sasuke's arm, grinning.

"It's nothing Sasuke. Hey! – You're still coming to the festival this weekend right?"

Years later it still irked Sasuke to know that despite hardly showing any emotions on his face Naruto could easily read him. Sasuke scowled, understanding that Naruto didn't want to talk about Hyuga Hinata.

"I don't have a choice do I?" Sasuke stood up, throwing the bottle at Naruto's face. "You and Sakura have nagged me nonstop, it's **_annoying._** I'll go but only so I don't have to deal with Kakashi's nagging as well." Sasuke walked away from Naruto, with his hand in his pocket. "You're all so stubborn," he muttered.

Hinata hit the wooden post with her palms consecutively. _ Again! _She went faster this time, ignoring the stinging of her palms. Hinata was beyond angered. She bit her lip as she slapped the wooden post, taking out her anger on it.  
Hinata could not believe the nerve of the Hyuga council. They had called for an audience with her this morning only to enquire about her relationship status. Hinata gritted her teeth, as she stepped away from the wooden post, moving into a fighting stance. With precision and speed, she began to kick the post.  
The council demanded that she get married soon in order to produce an heir. _It is a requirement as the Head of the clan_, she sneered at that. She knew that! Hinata would be imprudent to think she did not need to produce an heir. _But it's too much. _The timing and request of it all was wrong. She was not ready. Hinata still had many emotions to sort out. Thus, she retorted to the council that Hanabi was a suitable heir for the time being. She preferred not to say that, but if it would get the council off her back for a while, then Hinata would use it in her favour.  
She performed a round house kick onto the wooden post, quickly moving closer to the post to smash her palm into it. _Hanabi's still young; she doesn't even know what she wants. _Yet, Hinata was nineteen years old and even she didn't know what she wanted. Angered by that idea as well, Hinata continued to attack the post. Nonetheless, none of that anger compared to the annoyance and guilt she felt when the council enquired about Naruto. They believed he was a worthy suitor as he was the hero of the war; he was hard-working, determined and the next Hokage. _I know all that already._ Hinata wanted to scream at the elders and rip her hair out. She **_knew_** that Naruto was worthy. She knew that from the beginning, when they were just little children. Naruto was not worthless, _it's me. I'm the unworthy one. _ She was grateful that the council at least did not ask why she stopped her relationship with Naruto. Perhaps they assumed that due to the timing of her father's death and her inauguration as Head that it had been **_too _**much for her at that time – which was somewhat true. Hinata stopped attacking the post as she felt her hands begin to bleed. She wiped the crimson onto her thighs, uncaring what the Hyuga maids would say to that.

"You can't execute a perfect gentle fist if your palms are ruined."

Hinata jumped and let out a squeak. She turned around, finding Sasuke behind her.

"Uchiha-san! How – How, long have you been there?" She stammered out. Hinata released a heavy breath, wiping the sweat off her face.

Sasuke sneered at her, "For someone who has 360 degree vison you're quite blind."

Hinata blushed and turned away from Sasuke. _He's supposed to have heightened senses yet he managed to walk straight into me...hypocrite. _Hinata was annoyed; she obviously did not have her byakugan activated so it was impossible to see him from behind. _Unless… he's insulting my skills to not even hear him approach!_ Hinata turned back to face him, her eyes narrowed at him. She had hoped he disappeared but apparently he had other ideas.

"Do you need something Uchiha-san?" She asked. Hinata would compose herself and refrain from being rude. However, he was making it quite hard.

"No."

"Oh – Okay." He was at it again, with his onyx eyes staring right into her. Hinata felt like Sasuke was reading her like an open book. Right now she felt like he had been deducing her every being and worth. His gaze was alluring yet terrifying. _ What is he thinking? _She had learnt to control her blushing but yet whenever she faced Sasuke her confidence seemed to crumble. Sasuke's stares had continuously left her feeling like a delicate snowflake. She didn't know why but it was infuriating. She had grown past her awkward self but when it came to him she caved in. Perhaps it was due to his absence in her life. After all, she never had to directly deal with him in the past. Sasuke took a step closer to her, leaning down so his face was hovering right in front of her. His eyes had never moved from hers. Hinata blushed at his scrutiny and immediately turned her head away, biting her lip.

"Hn." Sasuke stood up straight and turned on his heel. He left Hinata without saying word. As his figure disappeared into the distance Hinata's shoulder slunk, relieved that he was gone.

Xxxx

Sasuke made his way to the arranged meeting place, ignoring the stares and whispers of the female population. He realised, it was the first time he had adorned a yukata publicly since he was a mere child. His yukata was a simple blue, with no detail except the Uchiha emblem sown onto his back. Sasuke did not think he was arrogant but he was not ignorant. He knew that he was attractive; many females had professed their attraction to him, so that had to say something. Sasuke scowled – _there are so many people. _He should not have agreed. But the one, simple word 'yes' had managed to make Naruto and Sakura so god damn happy. He was a man of his word unfortunately. So he could not back down nor could he forget that he owed his two team mates **_a lot. _** After all, there constant belief in him had guaranteed his freedom and pardon for his past crimes. _Although, I only killed Danzo but that bastard had it coming. Tch. _  
As he began to near the meeting spot, Sasuke spotted Sakura with the others of Rookie Nine and the two remaining members of Team Gai. _She looks pretty. _Despite having no interest in females half his life, he wasn't stupid. He **_did_** have fantasies and hormones.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura waved at him, excusing herself away from the man wearing an ugly yukata. _Who in their right mind would wear something so green? _He immediately connected it with Rock Lee. As if on cue, Lee had turned around and flashed him a smile.

"Ah, Sasuke! What a honour it is for you to join us on such a youthful –"

A girl with two braided Chinese buns smacked Lee on the back of his head. "Lee, don't be so loud!"

Sasuke felt tension in his neck, the girl was right – Lee had been loud. _Too loud_.

Sakura padded up beside him, smiling. She brushed down her pink yukata and greeted him. "Naruto's going to be a little late. But this is pretty much everyone."

He looked around, and began to place names on everyone. The girl with buns he learnt was Tenten, as Lee had apologied to her for his loud tendencies. Beside them was Ino, chatting away to Kiba as he scratched Akamaru's ears. Behind them was Shikamaru, leaning against the tree looking as bored as ever. Choji was beside him, eating a packet of chips and Shino had stood there as well, quiet as ever. _There still the same people._

Sasuke turned around to face Sakura, "Where's Hyuga?"

Surprised by his question, Sakura jumped. "Hinata-chan? Oh… well knowing her she won't come."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow. Hyuga Hinata seemed to be the only person in this village whom had changed. He was certain she was the festival type of girl.

Suddenly, Kiba called out, "Nah, Hinata-chan will be here today. She said she'll be late because she's got a meeting with the council."

"Hinata-chan says that **_every time_** Kiba," Ino piped in.

Kiba scratched his cheek, "Yeah but this is different –"

"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late…what's different?" Sasuke tilted his head, to see that Naruto had arrived.

He noticed that the air had somewhat got tense. It was as if all of them had suddenly been walking on thin ice. _So it seems like everyone knows that Hyuga is a touchy subject._

It was Sakura who broke the silence, putting her hand on Naruto's arm, "Apparently Hinata-chan's coming."

Sasuke watched as Naruto eyes became wide and his breath hitched. In seconds, a sincere smile appeared, reaching to his eyes. Naruto looked up at the sakura tree they stood under, his eyes glistening with hope and a sudden peace.

"Hinata will be here."

Everyone excluding Kiba and Shino had looked at Naruto shocked by his statement.

Kiba grinned, "Heh, so you **_do _**remember."

Shino adjusted his glasses, "Naruto would be foolish to not remember."

Naruto laughed, scratching the back of his head. A hint of blush tinting his cheek, _he's embarrassed. _Naruto turned around to hide his face from everyone, staring at the sakura tree. He extended his arm above his head, reaching for the flowers.

"It's the Hanami festival, a flower viewing festival. It's Hinata's favourite festival dattebayo." Naruto clenched his fist, "She'll be here."

**thanks for reading, please review! xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to all who have reviewed , favourite, followed and just in general read the actual story! You are all wonderful xxx Ps. Sorry for the spelling errors, in the last chapter (I was half dead when I posted it, I've gone and fixed it now).**

**misao97: I'm sorry but this is a sasuhina fanfic, although there will be flashbacks of naruhina. I really love naruhina and it pains me to make him so sad as well! I'm rooting for him as well sometimes ha ha, it's so hard to be cruel to my babies ****L**** thanks for the review xx**

**crystalblue19: aw, I'm a big fan of naruhina so sorry to say but prepare yourself for some naruhina. Yes, there history will be explained real soon! I'm also excited to see Sasuke and Hinata's development ****J**

**The Hanami festival is a real festival, which celebrates the sakura trees falling. I'm sorry if I get any details wrong in regards to the festival as I'm using the internet as my resource. **

**This chapter begins with Kiba and Ino (another crack ship of mine). I love them and writing them was so much fun. So if you're not a big fan of them, I'm sorry but it's important that you do read it as some facts are revealed!**

**There's a little sasuhina interaction in this, hope you all like it! I promise that there will be many more Hinata and Sasuke moments to come. I really want to develop their relationship in a way that it is not rushed. **

**Also apologises that the update is late, it was Australia Day on Monday (so I was partying) and school has also started. Since I'm in my final year of school, I will also be quite busy, but rest assured this fanfic WILL continue and will be finished! I'm hoping to continue a streak of weekly updates. Nonetheless, onwards with the chapter – enjoy xx**

Chapter 4:

August23rd had been a date Ino Yamanaka would always remember. For the cheerful blonde, it had been a normal day until **_he_** walked in. From then on, that day had been special to Ino. She wondered what her life would be if he had never walked in on that particular day. _Boring as I wouldn't have a boyfriend. _ Ino laughed at that thought, it wouldn't necessarily be boring. After all, she had friends, a career in the Interrogation Force and worked at her family's flower shop from time to time.

"What's so funny?"

Ino looked up at her boyfriend and smiled – _Kiba Inuzuka._ She would never get tired of saying his name. If anyone had told her she would end up dating Kiba when she was twelve, she would have ridiculed them. Now, at the age of nineteen, Ino could admit she was madly in love with him.

Ino poked out her tongue at Kiba, "Nothing, I just remembered something."

Kiba scratched his beard, "I hope it was something stupid that Sai did."

Ino giggled at his reply. Despite the two being together for almost a year, he was quite jealous of Sai simply because Ino had found him attractive. After all the first time he had asked her out, Kiba had to enquire about the whereabouts of Sai which Ino had only replied with a 'how the hell should I know?' Thus, began their relationship. She wrapped an arm around his, gesturing that the conversation was over. She was glad he could read her. Kiba said no more as he continued to lead her to a stall to eat.

_August 23__rd__… what a day it was. _ For Ino it was precious to her, she remembered how Kiba had walked into her family's flower shop asking for flowers to give to Hinata. Ino sometimes felt selfish that August 23rd was an important day for her. That day was also the day the late Head of the Hyuga clan had passed away from a sudden heart attack. For Hinata it had been a terrible day of mourning. Ino thought the universe was strange like that – to grant happiness to one and grief to another. What made Ino feel even worse was the idea that if Hiashi Hyuga had not passed away, Kiba would not have come in on that day to buy flowers. That only left Ino questioning her relationship with Kiba as it grew. He once told her though that it didn't matter.

_I've liked you for a while Ino, I just didn't say anything because I thought you liked Sai. So it doesn't matter if I walked in on that day or not. I would've pursued you eventually. _

Ino sighed as her mind started to wander back to the day he walked in. She had been tending to some flowers in the corner when Kiba had barged in, with Akamaru behind him. At the time, Ino remembered that he seemed panicked, as he had been breathing heavily. The concern on his face was another side of Kiba she had not seen before. It intrigued Ino until eventually she realised she was attracted to him.  
When she questioned Kiba about his sudden appearance, he had explained that Hinata's father had died and Hinata had locked herself in her room. He needed flowers because Hinata loved flowers and Kiba urgently had to cheer Hinata up. Ino recalled rushing to make a bouquet of white lilies for Hinata and urging Kiba to calm down and breathe. She reminded him that Hinata needed stability and calm right now from her friend. Kiba nodded understandingly as he knew Ino could easily sympathise with Hinata's grief. The pain one feels from a sudden and unexpected death was heartbreaking. It had happened first with Asuma- sensei and then with her Father. Two very important male figures in her life had been taken away from her while on duty. Ino understood this was the way of the shinobi lifestyle. She knew the risks and the consequences.

Akamaru barked, breaking Ino from her thoughts. She tilted her head to look down at him, wondering what was wrong.

"Hey Ino, you okay? You look kind of sad." Kiba asked, tilting his head to face her.

Sometimes, Kiba and Akamaru could read her too easily. She didn't want to worry them with her senseless thoughts. Ino removed her arm from Kiba, stepping in front of him to change the subject.

"Are you saying that I look terrible? I **_thought_** you said this white yukata looked good on me!"

Kiba raised an eyebrow, knowing that she was purposely avoiding the subject. He decided to tease her.

Grinning, Kiba said "It'll look better on the floor."

Ino blushed, crossing her arms and turned away from him. "Shut up Kiba. You'll be lucky if this," Ino gestured to herself, "even makes it to your bed."

Kiba laughed and walked closer to Ino. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Who says we have to fuck in my bed?"

Ino smirked, playfully shoving Kiba. "Who says we're going to fuck?"

Kiba grabbed her hand, pulling Ino close to him. If it wasn't for Akamaru's bark the two might have kissed. Ino laughed, crouching down to Akamaru and patting him.

"Let's go get something to eat, ne?"

After they had found a stall selling dumplings, the couple sat down on a bench to eat with Akamaru curled at their feet.

"Ne, Kiba … Do you really think Hinata-chan will come?" Ino asked

"Yeah… she's always skipped out on the other festivals purposely but she won't skip out on this one."

"Eh? Did she make some sort of promise?"

Kiba scratched his cheek, "Don't tell anyone Ino, and I **_mean_**it. But she and Naruto, after they broke up… they made a promise to one another to speak about something today. So she'll be here, Hinata-chan might have ignored him this past year but she said she'll keep her promise and talk to him at the festival."

"I wonder what they promised each other…." Ino crossed her arms, "and here I thought it really was Hinata-chan's favourite festival."

Kiba looked at her, "It is."

He sighed, elaborating on the promise. "No one else knows but the two of them. Hinata-chan only mentioned it since she could tell that Shino and I were bothered about their sudden break up. She only said it in order to assure us that she and Naruto were still on speaking terms."

"The whole ordeal has been worrying to all of us. I really thought Hinata-chan and Naruto were **_it._**"

Kiba smiled sadly, "Honestly, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. Hina –"

Suddenly Akamaru barked, and Kiba paused. Sniffing into the air, "You're right Akamaru. It's her!"

"Hinata-chan!? She's here?" Ino exclaimed excitingly.

"Yeah, she's – Oh shit. Shit, shit."

"What's wrong?"

"She's going to walk straight in to Naruto soon if she doesn't change paths."

Ino was confused, _isn't that the reason Hinata-chan mainly came to the festival for, to talk to Naruto? _As if reading her mind, Kiba opened his mouth to answer.

"Knowing Hinata-chan she has to mentally prepare herself still to face him. Damn it she's –"

"I can use my jutsu to contact Hinata-chan and –" Ino stopped herself as she realised Kiba's hands had encompassed over hers, stopping her from making the necessary hand signs for the jutsu. He began to rub his fingers on her palms letting out a sigh. It didn't take long for Ino to realise he was worried, she also could easily read him. _Then why did he –_

"It is unwise to meddle in the affairs of destiny. Why you ask, because it would only delay the inevitable. I'm glad to see that you picked up on that before Ino could perform her jutsu."

Both Ino and Kiba jumped, turning around to face Shino. "How long have you been here?!"

Shino pushed up his glasses, "Since you came to sit at this bench. I was admiring this particular shrub," he gestured towards a shrub nearby, "my insects have taken a liking to it."

Kiba and Ino let out a sigh of relief. Grateful that Shino had not been behind them this whole time. Ino blushed faintly, she was confident girl but she did not want anyone else knowing about her sexual life. Especially her boyfriend's team mate. _Too weird._ Ino looked up at the sky, exhaling a breath. _Good luck Hinata-chan. _

Xxxx

Hinata clenched her fists, inhaling and then exhaling. As she neared the Hanami festival, Hinata realised she had been practically running to be there. _I hope no one saw me._ If word reached the Hyuga elders that the Head of the Hyuga was running to be at festival they would most definitely scold her. She had stopped running and leaned against one of the sakura trees. _This is it Hinata, you can do it. _She smothered down her lilac yukata, realising she owned more lavender in her wardrobe than anything else. Hinata frowned, she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. She shook her head – _focus Hinata you just have to find Naruto-kun and give your answer to him. _ She began walking in to the festival, running her hands through her hair, hoping she looked presentable. Activating her byakugan, Hinata began to seek out her team mates. She wanted to find them first and spend a little time with them before making her way to Naruto. _Yes, that should help calm down the nerves. _Hinata could trust her team mates would offer their full support. She kept her focus on the east side of the festival as she knew Akamaru tended to enjoy that side more often strangely enough.  
Hinata pushed through the crowds, _I had forgotten that festivals got this busy. _The last festival she had attended was last year's Hanami festival at the end of March. Since then, she had made a strong point to avoid festivals. Hinata made excuses – _terrible ones – _to all of her friends and especially Naruto. Hinata felt terrible but at that time her excuses had seem reasonable enough. None of it benefitted her, it would not help her and it would not **_fix _**anything. At that time Hinata had believed she did not deserve to be happy nor enjoy herself. The feelings still lingered, she would admit. However, these past months she spent solely dedicated to herself and her clan had helped. Hinata could rationally think now what she wanted to say to Naruto. She knew now what she could not say to him all those months ago.  
She replayed that memory in her mind. Recalling how October had just begun and Naruto had returned after a mission that lasted for five weeks. Her father had passed during the time Naruto had left, leaving him clueless to Hinata's suffering since they could not contact one another. Before Naruto had left they had been intimate, giving themselves to one another. Promising each other their minds, body and soul. Hinata **_had _**been so in love with him.

At that time she was prepared to marry him and to be the woman who would give him a family and him vice versa. But when Naruto had returned, Hinata could not keep her promise. She could not give him a family and she could not marry him – _I'm so worthless. _Hinata gripped her heart, biting her lip. She would not cry, especially in public. The elders would never let her hear the end of it.

Xxx

Sasuke regretted agreeing to coming to the festival. He had felt like he was twelve again as Sakura and Naruto dragged him around. Those two latched on to him as if he was their child. _Tch. _He had shrugged them off and snarled at them about it. Naruto would only grin and say that they didn't plan on letting Sasuke go again. _I'm stuck with these two forever… wonderful. _  
He wouldn't admit it out loud, but Sakura and Naruto were his only family now. However, sometimes Sasuke needed space and silence. Two things those two could not provide him. Sasuke sighed, as he watched Naruto running off to some stall, dragging Sakura along.

"Come on Sakura-chan! I'll win a prize for you dattebayo!"

Sasuke slowly trailed after them, hoping to put some distance between them for a bit. He had wondered what the point of meeting up with everyone was. Especially if they had all just planned to separate again. _Such a waste of time. _  
His thoughts began to drift off to the Hyuga girl. He had enquired to Naruto just what the hell was all that about earlier, to which Naruto smiled happily that his precious 'Hinata' had promised to meet up with him today. It left Sasuke bewildered as he was sure there was tension between the two. Sasuke gritted his teeth, not liking today one bit at all. He could feel that today would not end well for Naruto. And he knew it would all come back down to a certain little –

"Ah, gomen!"

_Speak of the devil. _Sasuke scowled as he turned to face Hyuga Hinata rubbing her head after bumping into his back.

"It's pitiful that you're blind whilst you're using byakugan – what a joke Hyuga-**_sama_**."

He watched as the woman lowered her head, comprehending that the added honorific was to insult her. Since he predicted that she would hurt Naruto in moments to come, Sasuke thought it would be nice to remind her that as the Head of the Hyuga her vision was not that splendid.

"Gomen Uchiha-san, I was focused on somewhere else." If he hadn't been paying attention to her, Sasuke would not have heard her reply. It was barely a whisper. _Surely I didn't hurt her ego too much?_

Sasuke looked away from her, "Just don't do it again Hyuga."

Hinata looked up at him with wide eyes. "That- that – You walked into me first!"

Sasuke turned to look back at her and smirked. Somehow, the little vixen had gotten under his skin. It was her shy yet confident personality that intrigued him.

He shrugged, "Guess this makes us even."

Hinata smiled, "Hai."

For a millisecond, his breath hitched as he gazed at Hinata's smile. The first time he had seen her smile he had not been paying attention so much. But now, his focus was solely on her. _She's aesthetically pleasing._ Sasuke noticed that Hinata had bags under her eyes that she tried to hide but Sasuke knew bags better than anybody else.

"Why don't –"

"Hey teme! Who you talking to?"

Sasuke swore under his breathe, annoyed that Naruto interrupted him. He wanted to ask why she didn't sleep. Yet he was also grateful that Nartuo had interrupted, _what was I thinking? Asking her a question like that. _ However, as he glanced at Hinata he noticed that she had become alarmed and rigid.

Naruto peered over, opening his mouth to begin talking but once he realised whom it was he paused. "Hinata…"

**As I said earlier, I'm in my last year of school and it is getting hectic already after the first day back. So I might not get the chance to update weekly unfortunately. This fic will be continued though and will be finished.**

**Hope you all enjoyed it, please review xxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**The last chapters have been quite short and I apologise about that. Thank you for all the reviews, follows and favourites. It means a lot to me.**

**PLEASE READ - Just going to clarify with the timeline: The Hanami festival runs through the end of March to early May. Currently, it is April. There will be a flashback and that occurred around the end of September to October. Hinata's father died a 5 weeks prior to the timeline of the flashback. **

**Also zenzai = red bean soup. According to the 2****nd**** data book (which I just purchased recently) it is both one of Hinata and Naruto's favourite food. **

**This is a long chapter and the longest I have ever written. The history behind Hinata and Naruto will be revealed. The context is quite emotional. Reminder that this fic is rated M**

**Chapter 5:**

Hinata felt helpless in that moment. The way Naruto whispered her name it was coaxed full of desire and hope. His azure eyes had spoken to her pleading for her to regard his presence – something Hinata had not done these past months. Hinata could not remove her eyes away from his nor could she fathom any words.  
It reminded her of their first time. Naruto had held himself above her, moaning out her name as she had nibbled on his collarbone. When she had pulled away to look at him, their eyes had locked in a similar fashion to now. However, back then his eyes had been lit in passion and desire. They were clothed only in their underwear and one look had told Hinata that Naruto needed her to be his right now. She could not respond with any words. Instead, Hinata wrapped her arms around Naruto grabbing his back muscles as she dragged him closer. She kissed his lips and neck until he understood she felt the same way.  
It seemed ironic that even now his gaze had translated into that. _He needs me. He wants me. _Except Hinata did not want **_any_** of that now. _I don't deserve it. I can't have it. I don't deserve his love. _Those thoughts had been a mantra to Hinata these past months, as if she was brainwashing herself to believe that. Anyone else would believe that but Hinata knew she was merely speaking the truth. Her mantra was the truth and nothing else.  
She blinked her lavender eyes, realising that his stare was so penetrating to her. It had felt like hours but merely a minute had passed. Yet in that minute, Naruto had been able to stir up old emotions she thought she discarded. Neither of them said anything. The two were standing so close yet it felt like their minds were so far apart. It was Sasuke who broke the tension, giving a grunt and turning to leave.  
Alarmed that she would have to actually talk to him **_now_**, Hinata almost called out to Sasuke. She didn't want to be alone with Naruto right now. Hinata fidgeted, clutching her yukata. _I'm not ready. I need time to prepare, oh kami. _

"Uh, so I didn't know you and Sasuke were friends," Naruto said whilst scratching the back of his head.

Relief flushed over Hinata as she realised Naruto was just as nervous as her. Hinata brought her hands in front of her, smiling. She nervously laughed before responding.

"Acquaintances perhaps is a better term, Naruto-kun."

Naruto grinned, glad that she had replied. He stretched his hands behind his head.

"That's understandable since he's a teme dattebayo…Did you wanna grab something to eat?"

Hinata bit her lip, wanting to shake her head and decline as she wanted to give Naruto an answer as soon as possible. _I promised Naruto-kun I would tell him today whether or not I wanted to get back together. _Suddenly her stomach rumbled and it seemed her body had made the decision herself.

Naruto laughed, "I'll take that a yes, come on Hina!"

Hinata blushed as she felt Naruto's hand grab onto hers. He had also used her old nickname. She had not heard that name since they had broken up. Naruto turned around to face her, confused as to why Hinata was not moving. When he realised what the reason was Naruto grimaced.

Naruto darted his eyes away from Hinata and mumbled, "Sorry, habit." He let go of her hand and waited for Hinata to follow him. She followed, feeling awkward and sorry herself.

The restaurant they had entered was full. Hinata was surprised that the two had managed to get a table. Naruto waited for Hinata to slide into the booth, before he slid into the one across from her. The waiter came seconds after, muttering that it was too god damn busy and loud to be an underpaid worker. Immediately, she stopped her mumbling when she recognised whom her customers were.

"Well it sure has been awhile! The usual?" she put away her notebook, already knowing the orders of both Hinata and Naruto.

Hinata smiled, "Hai. Arigato, Iminu-san."

Once Iminu had left, Hinata relaxed against the booth. Naruto leaned against the table, as he watched Hinata he let a small smile grace his lips. He rested his chin on his hands as he watched her yawn.

"Another busy meeting?" he asked.

Hinata sat up, "Yes. The elders are quite stubborn."

Silence washed over them as another waiter brought over two glasses of water for them. Simultaneously, the two grabbed their glasses and sipped their waters.

Naruto placed his glass down, "Your father and Neji would be proud of you Hina. I mean that, don't let anyone else tell you otherwise."

Placing her glass down, Hinata tapped the glass with her fingers. "Arigato Naruto-kun, but I really –"

"That includes yourself Hinata." He said sternly. In that moment Hinata pictured him as the Hokage commanding authority over his shinobi.

Hinata looked down, too afraid to face his piercing eyes. It would only stir up old emotions and bring up old memories. _It's too late. _Her memories and feelings associated with Naruto had already began to come to surface again.

"Here we go, two zenzai." Hinata flicked her head back up as she watched Iminu place the bowls of soup in front of her and Naruto. "Enjoy the meal kids, it's on the house tonight!"

"Ah – thanks baa-chan!" Naruto exclaimed.

Iminu grinned, "It's been too long since we've had our favourite regulars."

Hinata replied, "Gomen, we've both been busy."

Iminu chuckled, "Busy making kids huh?"

Hinata froze, her hands began to tremble as she reached out for her glass.

Naruto coughed, scratching the back of his head, "Actually…we're not together anymore. We're just good friends."

She brought the rim of the cup to her lips, waiting for Iminu to say something. The silence dragged on and Hinata thought her whole body would begin trembling. She could feel her breath begin to quicken and her heart begin to race. _Oh no, not here. Please not here. _

"Hina, breathe in and out. It's okay."

Her eyes flicked back to Naruto and realised it was just the two of them. _Where did Iminu-san go? Does she know? No, no. Just calm down Hinata._

"Hina," Naruto repeated as he took her hand, squeezing it. Hinata closed her eyes, inhaling through her nose and exhaling through her mouth. Once the panic attack had passed, Hinata squeezed Naruto's hand back.

"Arigato Naruto-kun…Did – What did Imuni-san say?"

Naruto let go of her hand, the warmth immediately escaping her. He ran a hand through his blonde spiky hair, before sighing. "She just apologised. Don't worry about it."

Hinata nodded her head and the two began to eat their zenzai in an uncomfortable silence. Her bangs had hid her eyes from Naruto, but she could see that he had opened his mouth many times to converse only to close it after. She bit her lip, nervous at his hesitancy. He never had a problem with speaking his mind before. However, she could empathise with his nervousness. Today she would give him an answer. _Although, I'm sure he already knows that it's over. _  
Once the two had finished eating, Hinata finally looked back at him before nodding her head. The two stood up and left the restaurant, walking side by side. Hinata took the time to admire Naruto, realising that this was her last chance to be selfish with him. She had thought that a few months ago would really be her last chance but it seemed Naruto did not want things to end on such a traumatic note as well.  
Hinata gathered all the confidence she could muster, as she briskly walked in front of Naruto. She clasped her hands behind her back and smiled.

"Naruto-kun, let's go see the flower display ne?"

Taken aback by her sudden confidence Naruto froze, raising his eyebrows as he was shocked at her request. His eyes then crinkled as he broke out into a smile. "Yeah, I'd like that."

It had seemed like only yesterday Hinata had requested the same thing a year ago when they went to the Hanami festival. She took his hand, leading him the way. _I know I shouldn't hold your hand Naruto-kun but just this once I will listen to my heart and Hanabi. I'll be selfish just this once. _ Hinata smiled bitterly, remembering the last time she had guided Naruto was through the forest to that particular clearing.

Xxxxxx

**From here on out it is Chapter 4.5 **(**_flashback to end of September to October last year)_**

Hinata closed her eyes as she allowed the maids to attend to her. She felt her long tresses being brushed, her nails being filed then painted crimson and her face was granted the same attention as the maids covered her in make-up. She opened her eyes, staring at herself. Hinata gave the maids a slight smile, which seemed to satisfy them as they left quickly so Hinata could be alone. She exhaled, relieved that she was once again alone. Her body still itched from the bath the maids had given her. They had scrubbed her pale skin until Hinata began wincing since it was red. Their reasoning had been that she had bruised and dirtied her body so much these past few weeks during training and missions. It was supposedly their duty to make sure she was clean and presentable for today.  
It had only be four weeks since her father's passing. It was sudden and unexpected. Hinata had been the only witness of his heart attack. One minute he was saying that he was proud and then suddenly he was gasping for air, as he was short on breath. _Otosan… I wonder what you wanted to say at that time. _Hinata bit her lip as she clenched her fists. She could not afford to break now. Hinata could feel the tears rising but she kept reminding herself how long the maids had spent on her this morning and how selfish it would be for her to just suddenly cry. _I am not alone in my grief. Hanabi needs me. My clan needs me. _Fixated on that belief, Hinata stood up and left her room.

An hour late, Hinata's inauguration ceremony as the new Head of the Hyuga clan was finished. The ceremony was private and she had only been allowed to invite her team mates to come. She huffed as she sat down on the bench in the gardens. Hinata gazed at her reflection as she looked at the koi pond. _I'm the Head of the clan now… _Hinata felt tears on her flowery red kimono, _why am I crying? I should be happy. This is what I wanted. _ She wiped away the tears quickly as she heard footsteps approaching.

It was fruitless though as her guest had place their hands over her eyes, "Guess who?"

"Hello Hanabi-chan."

Hanabi wiped her hands on her kimono before taking a seat beside her sister. "Onee-san, don't cry please."

"I'm not crying," Hinata mumbled as she sniffled.

Hanabi grabbed Hinata's hand, giving it a squeeze. "Onee-san, when I turn eighteen let me challenge you for the position of Head."

Hinata flicked her head to her little sister. _Does Hanabi intend to free me from the title of head?_

"Is this what you want?" She questioned.

"Hinata, no matter what anyone says, Father was proud of you. **_I am_** proud of you. You exceeded this clan's expectations and you're the Head now. I have no doubt you'll be excellent demo… it's just I can't stand to see you like this!"

Hinata bit her lip as she pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Like what?"

"Trapped Onee-san. You won't be able to see your friends much and what about Kiba-kun and Shino-kun? You're a family and a team. You won't be able to do missions again Onee-san," Hanabi sighed, "and there's also Naruto-kun. How will you manage that with him becoming Hokage? You'll both be awfully –"

Hanabi stopped talking as she felt her older sister poke her on the cheeks. "Busy?" Hinata giggled, "Hanabi-chan arigato for worrying but I've taken all that into consideration already. It's too late to back down now, I never go back on my word. That is my ninja way."

Hinata smiled as she pulled her little sister in for a hug. "Hanabi," she whispered, "I look forward to fighting you in three years."

Xxxx

It had been a week since Hinata had been formally titled as the Head of the clan. Her usual schedule had been altered, forcing Hinata to become accustomed to the many requirements the Head must fulfil. She had learnt that if it was not in her Father's will for Hinata to be appointed as the new Head, the elders would have chosen Hanabi. It was widely known by the whole clan that Hanabi had been trained for the role whereas, Hinata had not. Hinata had little experience or knowledge, as her Father had only recently began to teach her. This forced Hinata's time as Head to be split between duties and lessons through the elders. She hardly had time for herself or to train with her team mates. Hinata recalled that she had asked about going to train but the elders reprimanded her saying that she had trained solidly for four weeks prior to her inauguration.  
She sighed as she fell onto to her bed, _Hanabi was right. I am trapped and merely a puppet. The elders truly do pull the strings. I can't let them control everything. _Hinata rolled onto her stomach, huffing as she stretched on her bed. Ever since she had become the Head, her property had been moved into her Father's room. However, room was an understatement. It seemed more like its own private living quarters. Hinata was still trying to get used to all the space.  
Hinata sat up as she heard a knock on her screen, she walked over to her table and sat down in seiza position. She pulled out a scroll, pretending to read it.

"Enter," she commanded.

Hinata watched as her younger sister had slid into the room, with a grin plastered on her face. She raised an eyebrow at Hanabi.

"You'll never guess what I heard Onee-san! I was walking past the hospital and I overheard Sakura-san talking to Ino-san that Naruto-kun will be back in a few days. "Hanabi moved to sit across from Hinata similarly in seiza. She leaned against the table, still grinning, "Are you going to greet him at the gate?"

Hinata blushed, "Well – I – maybe. We'll see Hanabi-chan."

"Maybe? You're his girlfriend!" Hanabi exclaimed, waving her hands in the air.

Hinata closed the scroll, smiling at Hanabi. "You're right. I'll go meet him, "Hinata stood up, "now if you'll excuse me I need to use the bathroom."

Xxxx

Hinata closed her eyes shut, hoping the severely painful cramps in her stomach would subdue. Amidst all the chaos of these past five weeks, Hinata had forgotten about her period. However, she could tell through the heavy bleeding that she was definitely on her period. _Wait, five weeks? I was late by a week then… _Hinata bit her lip, nervous about what that meant. Her lower abdomen had felt heavier and painful than ever before.  
Hinata flushed the toilet and leaned against the bathroom bench as she sighed. Ever since her period had come late, she frequently had to urinate, she was fatigued and had such sore breasts. Normally, she would feel fatigued when on her period but now she felt as if she had hardly slept. Hinata began to massage her temples, _what does this all mean? I can ask Sakura-chan but she might tell Naruto-kun and I don't want to worry him… I'll have to see Tsunade-sama. _

Fortunately for Hinata, the elders had allowed her to have the rest of the afternoon off. She washed her hands and forced her distressed face to fall into a content one, feigning that her doubts were non-existent. _I can't upset Hanabi. _ Yet, it seemed that it had been pointless as Hinata's room was empty when she returned. She found a note scribbled on her table, Hinata giggled as she read it.

_Onee-san it's very weird to read a scroll on jutsus upside down. I'm going on a mission with my team, I'll be back tomorrow afternoon._

_Ps. You should rest Onee-san, you don't want to look like a zombie when you greet Naruto, do you? Ja ne!_

Xxxxx

Hinata clutched her hands together, scowling at herself that her palms were sweaty. _Hanabi's right, after I finish seeing Tsunade-sama I'll take a nap. Perhaps I'm over-working myself. _Although, Tsunade was no longer Hokage, she was still a big contributor to the village. Tsunade continued to work at the hospital, as well as opening a clinic specifically for women. When Hinata entered Tsunade's office, the Godaime was reading over papers. She placed them down, smiling at Hinata.

"Hinata-chan, what can I do for you?"

Hinata smiled and walked over to the couch to sit down. She took a deep breath in and out. "Tsunade-sama, it might not be anything serious demo… my period came five weeks late and since then I've had very painful cramps and heavy bleeding."

"Hinata-chan… I'm going to ask you some personal questions, is that okay?"

Hinata nodded, and Tsuande moved over to sit next to her on the couch. She bit her nail and then removed it from her lips.

"Did you and Naruto have sex about five or six weeks ago?"

Hinata blushed and bit her lip, "Hai."

"Did you use protection?"

Hinata blushed profoundly remembering the night they had made love to each other. Naruto at that time did not have a condom but Hinata had insisted it was fine. They were going to start a family together after all.

"No, we did not. " She said as she pushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You said you've had heavy bleeding, was there also small blood clots?"

Hinata nodded unsure of where Tsuande was going with this information. Tsunade's head was tilted down, her hair covering her eyes. Slowly, she moved her hand over Hinata's grabbing it gently.

"Hinata-chan, I'm so sorry to tell you this but you've," Tsunade paused and exhaled, "you've had an early miscarriage."

Hinata froze and shook her head, "I – I – I don't understand."

"It's possible for women to have a miscarriage at five weeks without knowing they are pregnant. I really hate to give you such news at a time like this."

Hinata covered her mouth with her free hand as she felt the tears begin to spill upon her face. She cried silently and began to tremble. As Tsunade pulled her in for a hug, her face became hidden in Tsunade's chest allowing her to wail. Hinata kept apologising through her cries. _I'm a failure. I'm so hopeless. I've let down Naruto-kun. I can't give him a family. I killed our child. I killed our baby. I killed an innocent child. This is all my fault. Stupid Hinata. Stupid girl. My fault. My fault. _Hinata's breath became rapid, distraught at the sudden news. _What good am I? So unworthy. So hopeless. Naruto-kun won't want me now. I can't provide a family. I can't give him something he's always wished for. If Naruto-kun doesn't want me, who will I have? I'll be alone. The Hyuga will renounce my status. It would bring shame to them. I've shamed my family. I've shamed my clan. Deflowered before marriage and a miscarriage, I've brought dishonour to them. Dishonour to Naruto-kun. No. Why me? No. This can't be real. No. This is a nightmare. No. I don't want to hear anymore. Please stop. Stop. Stop._

Tsunade's hands rubbed gently on Hinata's back, trying to soothe her. Hinata had not heard any words from Tsunade but she thought perhaps that it was best Tsunade had not said anything. Hinata pulled away from Tsunade and wiped her tears, she saw her hands still shaking and gripped her jacket.

"The baby… what happened to the baby?" She whispered.

Tsunade grabbed Hinata's hand again, giving it a squeeze. "It's not your fault Hinata-chan. There is always a possibility that the first trimester can result in a miscarriage. This early in the pregnancy the baby is as small as a sesame seed."

Hinata gasped as her hand flew to her mouth, "You mean," she gulped, "the small blood clots were…"

Tsunade nodded sadly, "I'm sorry Hinata-chan."

Xxxxx

Hinata stared out the window, ignoring the scrolls she was told to read over before noon. For Hinata, time was non-existent and merely a concept that she had ignored. Tsunade had told her that it was most likely a chromosomal abnormality that caused the miscarriage. She had tried to reassure her second trimester would result in a healthy pregnancy and baby. It had been a little reassuring to know that but it did not lessen any of the pain and guilt she felt. _How do I tell Naruto-kun? _Hinata came to the conclusion that if she did in person she would break down and cry. However, if she wrote him a letter that would be cowardly. She sighed as she rested her head against the table, _how many days have passed? _  
Ever since she had returned from the clinic, Hinata engrossed herself in work. The more she worked, the less people would talk to her and notice her. She believed that. She didn't want anyone to look at her and ask her what was wrong. Hinata already knew she looked awful and horrendous. She had a forming dark shadow under her eyes from the lack of sleep. The elders had made no comment about it but suggested that she take a break every now and then. _But if I stop working I'll only think. I'll think about the baby. I need to work so I don't have to think about the baby. _That idea though was easier said than done. When she had walked around the compound earlier she had seen little children and her heart ached at the realisation her child would never exist in this world. Her child would not play with others like the children she saw. _Everywhere I go, everything I do, it all comes back to the baby. _  
It felt surreal to know that she and Naruto's child would be non-existent in this world. They would never have the chance to hold or see their baby. They would never know its gender or the memories they could have shared.  
Hinata closed her eyes and nuzzled her face into her arms. _Okasan, Otosan, Neji-niisan. Please look after our baby. _

Hinata closed the scroll and glanced at Hanabi with a condescending look. "I am the Head of the Hyuga clan. I do not have time to frolic about to meet Naruto-kun.**"**

Hanabi gritted her teeth, annoyed at her older sister. "Fine, do whatever you want Hyuga-sama!" She stormed out of her sister's quarters looking flustered and walked straight to her room.

Hanabi flopped onto her bed and buried her heard into her pillow. _What's with Onee-san? Ever since I came back from my mission she's been acting weird. _

The day Hanabi had returned from her mission she had hoped to continue her conversation with Hinata about Naruto. However, Hinata had closed off her quarters from anyone and only came out to eat or for meetings with the council. Moreover, Hinata would only go out to eat whenever Hanabi was not in the compound or in her room but according to the maids the Hyuga Head ate little. She was worried for her Onee-san. _Is the role of Head becoming too much for her? No – Hinata's strong. Onee-san must be dealing with something else. _Hanabi rolled over onto her back and stared at her ceiling. It was only yesterday that Hinata had re-opened her quarters for others to visit on emergencies only. Tonight was the first time Hanabi had been able to talk to her older sister after four days. Hinata's quarters were a mess. There were scrolls scattered everywhere, ripped fabric, empty glasses, and moreover Hinata looked like a mess on closer inspection. Hanabi tried to tease her sister about Naruto to make her laugh but apparently it was not something Hinata found amusing anymore. _Naruto-kun, where are you? My Onee-san needs you baka. _

Hanabi heard a faint knock on her door and sat up to see whom it was.

"Onee-san?!"

Hinata smiled at her, and Hanabi realised it did not reach her eyes.

"I'm going to go see Naruto-kun. Please don't wait up. I'll be back in the morning." Her voice had sound rehearsed, Hanabi lied back down knowing that when her sister was ready to talk about it, she would talk about it.

"I understand. Ja ne," she waved at her onee-san as Hinata bowed and left the room. Hanabi activated her byakugan, watching her sister release a heavy breath as she leaned against Hanabi's door, clutching her chest. _ Otosan, Okasan and Neji-niisan, please watch over Onee-san. _

_xxxx_

**All the information I have used regarding miscarriages is true. It is unfortunately possible to miscarriage at 5 weeks. **

**I'm sorry if I have offended anyone also. **

**Next chapter will be a continuation of this flashback. The long awaited moment of Naruto and Hinata's conversation will be revealed. As you all know, I'm in my last year of schooling so there's a 50/50 chance there will be an update next week.**

**Please review xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Apologies that there was no Sasuhina interaction last chapter but I can assure there will be many more moments to come (eg: this chapter ends with an intense Sasuhina moment ooOOooo)**

**Thank you for the reviews, follows and favourites. The endless support and encouragement I get from you readers is wonderful and motivates me to write. Another late chapter, it seems my updates are quite random. **

**This chapter will be a continuation of chapter 5.5, so it will begin as a flashback chapter and eventually return to the original timeline ie the festival.**

**Chapter 6: Chapter 5.5**

Hinata could feel her heart pounding as she brought her knuckles against Naruto's door. She let it rest on the door, hesitating whether she should knock or not. _I do know where he keeps the spare keys but…_Hinata bit her lip and clutched her jacket. It was late and she was positive Naruto would be confused as to why his door was being opened this late at night. Hinata sighed resting her forehead on the door, _what do I do? Is this the right thing to do?_ Suddenly Hinata felt her feet giving way as she fell forward into Naruto's arms.

"Hinata! I thought it was you but I didn't think you'd literally be on the door dattebayo!" Naruto dragged her in, keeping his arms wrapped around her. Closing the door behind him, he nuzzled his face into her neck.

"Did I wake you up?" she asked. Hinata had noticed he was wearing nothing but his boxers.

"Nah, I couldn't sleep…I missed you Hina," he whispered. Before she knew it Hinata felt hot kisses on her neck, she let out a moan and entwined her fingers in his blonde hair. _Oh Kami, she missed him. _When his lips moved to her collarbone and his hands began to fiddle with the zipper of her jacket she became alarmed and grabbed his hands. 

Naruto raised an eyebrow at her, "Hinata?"

Hinata bit her lip and sighed, "I – I can't do this."

Naruto leaned in, resting his forehead on hers and his arms resting above her head. "Sorry, I was being selfish. I'm sorry I wasn't here for you Hina." He ran a finger down her jawline, "I'll make some tea okay?"

Hinata nodded and watched her shirtless boyfriend walk over to his kitchen. For a moment she had thought Naruto was referring to the pregnancy. Fortunately, he had not noticed the surprise in her eyes or perhaps he had. Naruto was always good at noticing small details people tended to overlook. Hinata sat down at his table and waited patiently for her tea. Hinata was unsure if she was grateful or terrified of the silence in the room. She had stared at every other possible object in the room besides Naruto. Meanwhile, she could feel his eyes on her. He leaned against the counter, with his arms crossed as he waited for the water to finish boiling. Before she knew it, Naruto placed a mug of tea in front of her and sat across from her with a similar plain red mug.

She smiled at him as she took a sip of her tea. "How was your mission?"

"I spent most of it in little villages that were heavily affected by the war. Rebuilding and providing resources. You know how it is," he waved his hand as if dismissing the conversation.

Hinata nodded her head and drummed her fingers against the mug.

"Naru –"

"Hina– "

They both laughed awkwardly, Naruto scratched his cheek. "You go first."

Hinata took a deep breath in and fiddled with the fabric of her jacket. "There's something I need to tell you Naruto-kun."

Naruto took a sip of his tea and nodded his head slowly. "Okay."

She closed her eyes, trying to find the right words. She opened them slowly, finding azure eyes to the side of her face. _I didn't even hear him move. _ He crouched down beside her and ran his hand through her indigo hair. "Hinata, you know you can tell me anything. I'll always be here for you."

Hinata glanced at Naruto and felt her eyes begin to water. Suddenly, Hinata felt her lips tremble and her body begin to shake. She threw her arms around Naruto and began to sob. "Gomennasai. Gomennasai," she muffled out through her cries. Naruto's arm encircled around her waist pulling her in a hug and his other hand caressed her hair. He kissed her forehead, trying to comfort her.  
She was unsure of how much time had passed when she had finally calmed down. Hinata was sitting on Naruto's lap and had her head leaned against his chest. _I need to tell him. I can't just cry and hope for it all to be fixed. _

"Naruto-kun," she whispered, "let's go for a walk."

Xxxxxx

Naruto felt anxious about whatever Hinata had to tell him. She had reluctantly took his hand and began to drag him somewhere. It seemed Hinata was dreading whatever she wanted to say. Moreover, Hinata continuously avoided his gaze, looking away whenever he had tried to look her in the eyes. Although she had calmed down, her eyes were still a little red and puffy from crying. Naruto was angered at himself that he would leave his girlfriend alone for five weeks. He felt terrible for leaving her all alone to deal with the death of her father. It was surreal to him because during his return to Konoha he had planned to talk to Hiashi Hyuga about having Hinata's hand in marriage. Nartuto frowned, he had hoped nothing would change during the five weeks he was gone. However, it seemed a lot had changed.

After returning from his mission earlier today and seeing Kakashi-sensei, Naruto had cleaned up and changed his clothes. He then proceeded to the Hyuga compound to visit Hinata only to be denied entry. The guards had said "Hinata-sama has requested to deny entry to outsiders into the compound and her own quarters." That statement had confused Naruto since he was positive Hinata did not have that type of authority. He had arched his eyebrows at the guards and scratched his chin. He questioned them whether he could see the Head of the clan instead. The guards had looked dumbfounded and confused. It was only until another guard had piped in and explained that Naruto most likely had not heard the news but Hiashi-sama had passed away five weeks ago. Hinata-sama was now the Head of the clan. Recently, her demeanour had changed and she had engrossed herself in work and sees no one.

Naruto looked at his girlfriend, recalling that the guards had mentioned that her change in behaviour had only began at the start of the week. _Something else is affecting her but what is it? _Hinata's grip had tightened on Naruto's hand as they began to head towards the forest. The walk was silent, besides there breathes and his rapid heartbeat. Knowing Hinata though, he was sure she was just as nervous. He glanced at the stars quickly, wondering if fate had entwined him and Hinata together. _She's the one. _The only woman he would ever love. His feelings for her, albeit they had surfaced late, he realised were always there for her. They had slowly developed but he knew deep down for a long time that he had harboured some sort of feelings for her. Now, as a man he knew he was in love with her. Naruto was terrified as Hinata had been acting strange ever since she came by. _I don't know what I'll do if she stops loving me. _

He was so lost in thought, he had not noticed that Hinata had stopped walking. He walked right into her, earning him a quiet squeak from his girlfriend.

"Gomen Hina," he said.

Hinata did not reply but rather she walked over to a stone and kneeled down into seiza. Naruto followed behind her, noticing that they were in a clearing that seemed untouched. He knelt beside her and proceeded to pray similarly to Hinata. He felt the sweat on his hands, as his palms came together. He darted his eyes away from Hinata, hoping that she did not notice that he was jumpy. Fortunately for him, it seemed Hinata's mind was preoccupied with other things as she made no comment. Swiftly, his eyes read the kanji engraved on the stone, _baby. _His breathe hitched as he felt Hinata's hands clutch onto his.

For the first time, excluding the time she cried, Hinata really looked at him. He saw guilt and heartbreak in her eyes and noticed the bags beneath them. It also seemed she had lost some weight. Her beautiful and blissful looking profile was heartrending and terrible. Hinata let go of his hands and shuffled a little away from him. She looked towards the darkness of the forest, taking a deep breath in.

"I've always wanted to be the Head of the clan. I wanted to prove my family that I was capable enough, that I am not a failure. I thought my succession as Head meant that but I was wrong. I'm a failure and incapable of the thing I've always desired. Giving you a family, **_being your_** family has always been my greatest desire. I've wanted nothing more. But now, I don't know what I want anymore. I don't want to be Head and I can't give you a family." Hinata felt the tears begin to fall, she clutched her pants, hoping that she could pull herself together.

"It's okay Hina, don't rush it. I'll wait." Hinata snapped her head quickly to Naruto, surprised he had said that. She thought he would interrupt her and ask about what she meant but it seemed he wanted to listen first. Hinata nodded and continued on.

"That night, when we made love to each other… I – I got pregnant. I was pregnant." She whispered out the last bit, it was the first time she had ever said those words aloud.

"I didn't even know I was pregnant Naruto. I miscarried at five weeks, just a few days ago. I'm such a failure, I'm so hopeless." Hinata covered her mouth, trying to smother out her cries.

"We would have had a baby and I killed it. Gomennasai, this is all my fault. I can't give you a family. I can't. I can't." Hinata bowed before Naruto, crying on the ground.

Hinata was sure that the silence meant Naruto detested her. She was too afraid to look up and meet his gaze. _What will he say?_

"Hinata," he whispered. She felt Naruto's hands on her waist as he pulled her up into a hug.

"It's not your fault, okay? I love you, okay?" He kissed her forehead and then her cheeks and then her lips. "Please, please don't blame yourself. These things happen. I'll talk to Tsunade-bachan and make sure everything's fine with you. We can always try again –"

"No!" Hinata cried out. She pushed Naruto off of her as she shook her head. "We can try again? I know that Naruto. I know that," she heaved out a breath and placed a hand on her stomach. "It won't be the same Naruto. It won't be the same baby that would have grown from our first child. It's my fault. I killed our baby."

Hinata threw her hands in the air, her tone raising louder, in anger "What kind of person doesn't know she's most likely to get pregnant after having unprotected sex? Me! Foolish, ignorant Hinata!"

Naruto grabbed her hands, trying to calm her down. "Hinata –"

"No. Please don't tell me you love me and it's going to be okay. It isn't going to be okay. It hurts so much Naruto. It physically and emotionally aches me Naruto. I look at you and I imagine the baby. I look at your eyes and I feel so guilty and worthless."

Hinata squinted her eyes shut for a moment and sighed. "I don't want to be with you anymore."

She heard the leaves beneath them shuffle. Hinata assumed Naruto was standing up. "You don't mean that, do you Hina?"

She opened her eyes and found Naruto's face centimetres away from hers. His once gleaming eyes seemed saddened and lost.

"Do you love me Hinata?" He quietly asked.

Hinata felt the tears prickle her eyes. She reached out her hand and placed it on Naruto's cheek. He leaned into it as she replied.

"Always. I will always love you. You're my first love Naruto…. I just can't be with you anymore."

He placed his hand over hers and closed his eyes. "I don't plan on giving up on you. I want you to think about us Hina, because I really want you. I really want you to be a part of my life forever. I **_need _**you."

It had felt like hours before Hinata had finally replied. The air had gotten colder and dawn was slowly creeping upon them.

"Okay."

Naruto's eyes snapped open as he heard her reply, "Really? You'll think about it?"

Hinata nodded and Naruto cleared his throat. "Good…. Uh how about…" Naruto scratched his cheek pondering on when Hinata should give him an answer. He decided to go with the first festival that came to his mind.

"The Hinami festival? Give me an answer at the Hinami festival, okay?"

**End of chapter 5.5**

Xxxxxxxxxx

**Chapter 6:**

Sasuke rolled his eyes as Sakura dragged him off to another mindless game stall. To say that he was annoyed was an understatement. He was **_agitated_**. He had planned to spend the day with both Naruto and Sakura. Yet, somehow the idiot had managed to ditch them to spend time with the Hyuga. _I thought they had broken up but it seems I was wrong. _It was strange though, he was sure that Naruto had looked overly depressed at the mere mention of her when they had trained together. He even noticed the surprise in Sakura's face when Naruto came over to tell them he was going with Hinata to eat. _So it seems I'm not the only person in the dark here about those two. _Sasuke wondered why Naruto's relationship had bothered him. Perhaps it was because the bond between him and Naruto was so strong that it was peculiar to see him so heavily affected by another bond. In Sasuke's mind, he and Naruto's bond was of the highest degree, nothing and no one would change that. Their paths had strayed yet entwined time and time again. _What is his bond with Hyuga Hinata? _Sasuke recalled Naruto saying that he was in love with her but what sort of love was that? Was it on the same wavelength as the love he possessed for Sasuke?

"Sasuke-kun, are you even listening?" Sakura said, with her hands on her hips.

Sasuke blinked at her, "Hn."

Sakura plastered on a fake smile, "Have the rest of the candy then." Sakura handed him some candy, to which Sasuke scrunched his nose in disgust.

Sasuke lowered his eyebrows, "Sakura…"

"Didn't you hear? I said do you want some and you said hn," she mimicked. Sakura took the candy out of his hand and popped some into her mouth. "I expect that behaviour from Naruto but from you it was totally unexpected."

Sakura turned on her heel to face Sasuke. She grinned, as she poked his chest. "What's got you thinking so much, eh?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her, and pressed his lips into a thin line. _Sakura knows me too well. Shit. _

"It's nothing," he replied. Sasuke started to walk past her but Sakura held out her arm to stop him.

"Doesn't sound like nothing. You seem annoyed."

"I am annoyed. **_You're_** annoying," he retorted.

Sakura laughed and put her arm down, letting him pass. "I haven't heard that in a while." She followed after him, falling beside him as they walked.

Sasuke glanced at Sakura from the corner of his eyes, _if anyone has a slightest clue as to what's going on between Hinata and Naruto it would be Sakura…_

He cleared his throat and said, "Naruto and the Hyuga girl, I thought they were separated."

Sakura titled her head at Sasuke, confused at his statement. She then smiled when she realised Sasuke was confiding in her.

"They are," she smiled sadly, "but from what we saw today it looks like they've patched things up…"

"They were fighting?"

Sakura shook her head, "That's not it. They just weren't talking or something. Hinata-chan changed completely after Naruto came back from a five week mission. I have no idea what happened but Naruto always said it was fine. That he and Hinata would sort it out soon. Months passed by and they became just like strangers. Hinata-chan merely became a name to us also. We hardly saw her and if we did, conversation would be short and rehearsed on her part. I don't know what's going on but appearing like that today all of a sudden and with some sort of 'promise' between them to meet today. It makes no sense." He noticed Sakura grit her teeth, annoyed at the situation.

"I really like Hinata-chan but I don't want her to hurt Naruto anymore. For a while he was just a shell of himself. He did missions and what not but he hardly talked or laughed. It was only until recently when we heard that you'd be back soon did Naruto start to return to his happy self… Although, I'm sure some of it is a facade. That idiot, not wanting any of us to worry about him."

Sakura stopped in her tracks and looked down at her feet with clenched fists. "I never want to see him like that again. I'm scared Sasuke-kun, what's going to happen today?" She whispered.

Sasuke placed his hand on Sakura's hair and ruffled it. Unsure if this was the best way to comfort her.

"I don't like it one bit at all Sakura."

Sakura glanced up at him with teary wide eyes. Suddenly the two stepped away from each other as they heard Naruto's voice in the distance calling for them. Sasuke squinted his eyes when he noticed Hinata following behind Naruto, hand in hand. _Tch. _

"Teme! Sakura-chan!"

Sakura smiled, "Hello Naruto, and Hinata-chan it's really good to see you."

Hinata smiled, Sasuke could tell it was forced as if she was uncomfortable. _Good. She deserves to be uncomfortable. _"Hello Sakura-chan, Uchiha-san."

"Hn," he greeted.

"Hey, Sakura-chan can I talk to you privately quickly. Please, it'll only take a second dattebayo!" Naruto pleaded. Sakura rolled her eyes and agreed, he watched as the two disappeared leaving him alone with Hinata.

Hinata darted her eyes away from Sasuke, clenching her yukata. _Good, I make her nervous. _

"Hyuga," he said, "I don't know what the hell you think you're doing but I would stop if I was you."

Hinata glanced at him narrowing her eyes, "You don't have any right to say that Uchiha-san."

Sasuke clenched his teeth, stepping closer to her so he could tower over her. "I **_do._** Naruto's family to me and if I ever hear again that he turns into some depressed –"

"Are you threatening me Uchiha-san? You or no one has no idea what's going on between Naruto-kun and I. Furthermore, it's none of **_your _**business and I would prefer if you and the others stopped trying to mediate it."

_This woman, I swear to Kami. _She was feisty. Her statement was bold but said in such a quiet tone. It was perplexing to him. He understood the notion of not wanting anyone else to be involved. After his family's massacre he did not any want help from anyone. He didn't want their sympathy.

"That's unwise for someone of your standing."

Hinata's head snapped up at him and she met his eyes. "You of all people should understand Uchiha-san. **_No one _**can understand how I feel..." Hinata turned away from his eyes at glanced at Naruto and Sakura's figures in the distance.

"Do you dislike me Uchiha-san? It's okay. I hate myself more so than anyone, so it doesn't bother me if you do," Hinata softly said. She stepped away from him as Naruto and Sakura began to approach them.

_She's wrong. I don't dislike her. I hate her. _

_xxxx_

**ahhh, this was a really difficult chapter for me to write. I hope you all enjoyed it. **

**Please review , until next time xxx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi guys so sorry that this next chapter has come late but these past few weeks have been SO BUSY I've had four tests last week and an assignment and it just got insanely crazy. This is quite a short chapter since I've had some writers block. It's more so getting the words down and heading into the direction I want the story to go! **

**This chapter isn't that eventful compared to the previous ones, but it's a stepping stone for the next chapter (which I'm looking forward for you to all read)! I really wanted to capture the friendship between Sasuke and Naruto, so I hope it's not OOC. **

**Also, I have really mixed feelings about this chapter. I don't hate it but I don't overly like most bits of it. So I'd appreciate the feedback. **

**Thanks for all the reviews as well and what not xxxx**

**Chapter 7:**

Sasuke sheathed his katana beside his hips as he sauntered back into the village. He took off his hawk mask and flicked his hair, attempting to move his bangs away from his eyes. It was dawn when he returned from his solo mission and the Village Hidden in the Leaves was peacefully sleeping. Sasuke wondered if this was how Itachi had envisioned peace. Silent and content. Although, Konoha had many things to rebuild, they had focused a lot of their efforts on helping small neighbouring villages that lacked the resources of a village with a Kage. This peace and content the whole village had with just being able to be alive was... _serene. _Sometimes it had made Sasuke irritated and envious. Much of the peace this village was built on was due to the oppression of his clan. The peace they had now was due to his and Naruto's efforts. Naruto whom this village once ostracised and shunned. _Tch. _Sasuke sometimes had to remind himself that Naruto no longer had resentments about it – **_he_** had forgiven them. Sasuke, on the other hand, had tried but he couldn't. He would not and **_could_** not forgive what this village has done to both his family and Naruto. The only sentiments he had for this village related to the memories with his family, his bond to Naruto, his familial feelings towards Team 7 and the sacrifice Itachi had made. He would protect Konoha because of those sentiments and nothing else. Nothing else mattered but those feelings.

_Speaking of the dobe, I wonder if he's moved from his bed. _It had been two days since Sasuke had left the village. The last time he had seen Naruto, he had been in bed and had looked solemnly depressed. His replies had consisted of one worded answers. His bright eyes and mind were now distant and gloomy.  
It had all began the day after the Hinami festival. _I was right, that day was cursed to be a bad one the moment it began. _ Following his normal routine, Sasuke had gone to visit Naruto early in the morning to drag him out of bed for a spar. However, when he had arrived, Naruto was already awake. He was sitting on his couch, with his head in his hands. Sasuke had noticed that his body was tense. Momentarily, there was a coarsely laugh. Naruto had then said that he was an idiot, it was over a long time ago. It was not difficult for Sasuke to narrow down Naruto's agony to come from Hyuga Hinata.

Sasuke frowned as he got closer to Naruto's apartment. From what he had learnt at the festival, Hinata and Naruto had not been together for a few months. Then, they had gotten together for the day out of the blue. It had made no sense to anyone. The two appeared to be content together but anyone close to them could tell that those feelings were a façade. Hinata and Naruto had a tense atmosphere between them. Sasuke knew it was not the 'I strongly dislike you' atmosphere. But, he knew it was tense. _Something happened. Something that Naruto can't even talk about. Something neither of them can talk about. _ He clenched his fists as he made his way up the stairs to the apartment. It was in moments like these that Sasuke became agitated at himself. He owed Naruto everything. Yet, there was nothing he could when his best friend was miserable.

Sasuke stood in front of Naruto's door hesitantly. _What do I do? _He had no idea how he should help him. Sasuke was not the type to lend helping hand out of the blue. He sighed, he still had to hand in his mission report. _I'll do it after this._  
Using the spare key under the mat, Sasuke unlocked the door. There was a tiny bit of him hoping that Naruto was his energetic and loud self again. However, he had crushed that in seconds, _I've got to be realistic here_. _Naruto probably hasn't even moved._ Sasuke trailed right in to Naruto's quarters as if he lived there. That statement was mostly true as he did always end up sleeping at Naruto's more than he did at Kakashi's. For one, Naruto hardly nagged Sasuke about doing things or questioned his every motive.  
Sasuke groaned as he walked into Naruto's room. He was right to crush every tiny bit of hope he had. Naruto was still in bed. There were ramen cups everywhere and he was positive Naruto had not bothered to keep his hygiene in check.

"Oi, dobe."

Naruto groaned and rolled over, "Sasuke? Aren't you leaving for your mission?"

Sasuke's eyes twitched, _well at least he replied with a sentence this time_. "I just came back from it."

"Oh." He rolled back over, and buried his head back into his pillow.

Sasuke unsheathed his katana in seconds and had the tip of the blade resting on Naruto's neck. "Don't give me such a pathetic reply. It's been two days – "

"I know," Naruto croaked out. Naruto's fingers circled around the blade and gripped it.

"Sasuke, you could stab me with this and I wouldn't even notice. It already feels like I'm being speared to death."

"Hn," swiftly he pulled the katana away from Naruto's hands and sliced Naruto's back open.

Poof!

Naruto's shadow clone disappeared and Sasuke massaged the bridge of his nose. _Well at least he got out of bed. Guess I'll go change or have a shower. _

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It didn't take long for Sasuke to find Naruto. Ever since the war, it was never too difficult to sense his presence. Sasuke didn't mind. It was as if the world was reminding him he would always have someone.  
Naruto was crouched over a garden bed in the Uchiha district. It was beside the house Sasuke was currently building.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Naruto wiped the dirt off onto his orange pants and smiled sadly. "Just some gardening. Hinata also liked gardening…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Are you as stupid as you look?"

"Eh?"

"Did you really think a shadow clone would fool me? Also if you plant ugly flowers I'll actually slice you in half this time."

Naruto scratched the back of his head, awkwardly laughing. "I didn't realise you'd be coming back so soon. And hey! You didn't actually have to listen to what my clone said."

"Whatever, let's go." Sasuke turned on his heel and walked out of the district with Naruto following behind.

"Sasuke… I don't really feel like sparring," he called out.

Sasuke gritted his teeth. He really needed to spar to let out some tension. Sasuke had to always hold back in missions now since his strength overpowered many very easily. It was only in his spars with Naruto could he fight at one hundred percent.

"Don't make assumptions," he spat out. "We're going to the Hokage tower first and then I'll treat you to some ramen for breakfast or lunch." He muttered out the last bit because he had hoped Naruto would never tell anyone about his sudden kindness.

From the corner of his eyes he saw Naruto smile sincerely. "Brunch sounds good."

Sasuke let a small smile creep onto his face, pleased that Naruto had smiled.

Xxxx

After handing in his mission report, Sasuke headed back towards the exit. He nodded his head at Naruto, whom was kneeling against the wall, with one leg propped against it and his arms crossed over his chest.

"Why'd ya drag me along just to hand in a report?"

Sasuke shrugged, as he placed his hand in his pocket. "I thought I should give you a reminder."

The two saviours of the world walked down the stairs, side by side in silence. As they finished one flight of stairs Naruto looked at Sasuke condescendingly.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Sasuke pushed Naruto against the wall abruptly and sneered at him.

"Isn't it your dream to become Hokage?"

"Of course it –"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "Then start acting like it. You'll be responsible for a whole village Naruto. If you can't take care of yourself over some stupid heartbreak then how do you plan to take care of a village?"

Naruto lowered his eyes, "It's not stupid –"

"Who gives a shit? She certainly didn't," he yelled out.

Naruto's jaw clenched, he pushed Sasuke off of him. "Shut up! You don't know anything Sasuke!"

"You're right, I don't know anything. It's ironic, you go around asking me about my problems but when it comes to you Naruto, you refuse to tell a damn soul!"

Sasuke grabbed Naruto's collar and punched him in the jaw.

"Don't let your personal feelings get in the way of your work, you idiot."

Naruto laughed as he wiped the blood off his mouth. "Leave me alone you ass. I got a week off the roster. I'll mope about as much as I want this week."

Sasuke pressed his lips together into a thin line. "Whatever." He shrugged and turned on his heel, continuing to walk down the stairs.

Naruto stood up and followed behind him, "Hey teme! You're still buying me ramen dattebayo!"

Sasuke smiled, "Hn."

Xxxx

Sasuke rested his chin on his palm, staring off into his other hand. His other hand slowly spun a cup of sake. During his travels he had learnt the wonders of alcohol and the comfort it provided. It was intoxicating and blurred out a lot of the pain. It tasted bitter and burnt his insides, **_especially _**his throat. But the end result was always consistent. It would take away the agony for a few hours and it relaxed him. There was nothing else he could ask for.

_Don't be such a fool. Tch. _Sasuke massaged his forehead and sighed. It was only when he had a few drinks would he let his thoughts wonder. _Liar, liar, liar. _Sasuke smiled bitterly. _That's right. There's nothing else I want? Such bullshit. _Sasuke wanted the agony to be gone. He wanted the weight of it all it be lifted from his shoulders. It was a fruitless desire though. The suffering and hatred would never disappear. The darkness of it would always lie dormant in his heart. He was slowly healing though – _it's_ _all thanks to Naruto. _  
Sasuke looked at him and smiled. _He seems a bit better now. _Naruto was slurping away at his large bowl of miso pork ramen. He had spat out some words here and there and Sasuke had nodded in response.

He was uncertain on how long both he and Naruto had been at Ichiraku Ramen. But once the shop had gotten busy due to it being lunch both he and Naruto had decided to take their leave. The two had waved their goodbyes to both Ayame and Teuchi, and were told to come again whenever they please.

Naruto yawned and stretched his arms in the air as they walked. He placed his hands behind his head.

"I don't know how you convinced the old man to let you have some sake. Especially this early in the day!"

Sasuke shrugged.

"You didn't use your sharigan or rinnegan on him did you? Because if you –"

Naruto stopped midway as he felt Sasuke glare at him.

"Does it look like I would use my eyes for something so insignificant?"

He gulped and shook his head.

"Hn."

The two continued to walk down the road, here and there girls would fawn over them from afar or run up to them. Whenever they did, Naruto would converse back to them. Sasuke on the other, would continue walking. He had no time for girls whom only cared about his looks and status. Moreover, he didn't even know how to talk to them. Hence, whenever Sasuke would walk off, Naruto would run after him leaving the girls behind. It was a continuous routine they followed until one particular girl ran up to them.

"Naruto-kun!" Hyuga Hanabi called out. He watched as the younger Hyuga sister, waved her hand in the air and ran to them. She was the opposite of her older sister. Hinata had more of a womanly figure and had a hint of lavender in her eyes. Whereas, Hanabi lacked curves and breasts. Sasuke gritted his teeth, _why am I even thinking about that damn Hyuga girl? _

"Oh! Hanabi-chan, hey!"

She flashed a smile and then blushed as she realised Sasuke was also there, "Uchiha-san," she grasped her hands together and bowed before him, "sumimasen about before. I did not mean to call you such rude names nor address Uchiha-san like that."

Sasuke was taken aback. She had apologised to him, as if the remarks she had made were life threatening. He turned his head away from her, "How trivial. I didn't even remember."

He heard the girl gasp. She stood up and turned her head away from Sasuke and Naruto. He observed her trying to control the faint blush on her cheek. Sasuke wanted to walk away but her next question had sparked his curiosity.

"I just thought I should apologise… Ah, Naruto-kun are you busy this afternoon?"

Naruto titled his head and scratched his cheek. "Hmmm… guess not, why? Does Hinata need help with something?"

Hanabi shook her head, "I just came back from visiting the Academy and Iruka-sensei was planning on asking you to hold another demonstration class this afternoon?"

"Nani? Wait – what were you doing at the Academy?"

Hanabi blushed as she responded. "Ever since I got promoted, I took on the job of teaching there. Since there's hardly any missions now I thought it would be nice. Also, since I'm at home I can look after my onee-san more."

Naruto grinned, "That's great Hanabi-chan! I'll be there this afternoon, yosh!"

"Arigato! Oh, Uchiha-san, if you want you could also –"

"No."

Naruto pouted and nudged him, "C'mon Sasuke, it'll be fun dattebayo!"

Sasuke curled his lip, disgusted at the thought of looking after children fun. "I'd rather be stuck in a room with Orochimaru."

Hanabi looked horrified at Sasuke's response.

"He really doesn't mean that Hanabi-chan."

"I do. That way, I could stab him as I please," Sasuke smirked, "you can't do that with children, can you?"

He waited for Hanabi to call him a monster or any other degrading term. Instead she laughed, "That's true, half of those kids are brats. But they are the future, so we need to look after them."

"Hn."

Naruto scratched his cheek, "Ah anyway…. How's Hinata?" He mumbled.

Hanabi looked down at her feet. "She's okay."

"I see… well, please look after her Hanabi-chan."

Hanabi raised her head and nodded, "Hai… Anyway I've got a clan meeting to attend to. Ja ne!"

Xxxxx

The rest of their walk was quiet. For once, Sasuke could not handle the silence.

"Why do you even care so much about her?"

"Huh? Well… I guess I just do. It's natural. "

Sasuke stopped in his tracks and Naruto followed in his stead. He glanced at Naruto and noticed him staring at the sun, he smiled sadly.

"You of all people should know what I'm like. I never gave up on you Sasuke."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "That's different Naruto."

Naruto looked back at Sasuke and sighed.

"Do you know what it feels to be in love Sasuke? Sakura-chan's always been in love with you. Despite everything, she gives you endless love and never asks for more. I guess that's how I feel now about Hinata. I won't ask anything from her anymore since she's given me all of her love. She poured and poured and now she's empty Sasuke. She can't love herself because she can't forgive herself. I just want her to be happy again. I want her to experience love again. I'll always love her, that's never going to change. But, the next time she'll experience love, it won't be with me. All I can do for her now is make her understand that I'll cherish what he had forever. She's important to me. It's just like how you're important to me Sasuke… Do you see what I mean? You're the first person I've ever had a bond with. You're my first friend. Hinata… she's my first love. I just can't forget these relationships I've had which impacted my life."

Sasuke's eyes were wide, his eyebrows were raised and his eyes locked with Naruto's.

"What exactly did happen between you and Hyuga?"

Naruto smiled sadly, "A lot and nothing at the same time."

**Xxx**

**As I said, quite a short chapter. I wanted to post a least something for you all, because I didn't want to drag on posting this chapter up. Please review !**

**Thanks for reading! Xx**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews and feedback! Shout out to everyone who reviewed and got excited that I finally updated. I'M EXCITED AS WELL. A lot of exciting things are beginning to happen and I've been waiting since the very start for you to all read the events that occur in this chapter. I realised that many of the next chapters might be short due to my busy schedule but I will try to the best of my abilities to update frequently and to have longer chapters. **

**This a long chapter so enjoy!**

** Chapter 8:**

_A lot and nothing at the same time…_

Those words were stuck in Sasuke's mind even after both he and Naruto had gone their separate ways. It was coaxed of hurt and contradiction. _What did Naruto mean by that? A lot and nothing at the same time…_  
He gritted his teeth, Sasuke would just have to patiently wait. Before departing Naruto had promised him he'd tell Sasuke everything. He just needed to recollect his thoughts first. Sasuke stopped walking as he suddenly heard the sound of someone kicking a post. He blinked his eyes, Sasuke hadn't even realised he had walked towards the training ground. He sighed as he pinched his nose, _I really need to spar, damn it. _As he got closer to the training grounds, he recognised the figure instantly. The long indigo tresses swaying through the wind, the distinct womanly body that clung to her clothing and that irritating lip bite. Sasuke smirked, it seemed that today was his lucky day.

"Hyuga!" he called out.

As he had planned, she had turned around in surprise only to be met with his katana slicing off an inch of her hair. _I can't promise I'll hold back, it has been awhile. More importantly, it's her fault that Naruto refuses to spar. _  
Fortunately for her, Hinata's fast reflexes had allowed her to dodge the katana from actually cutting into her. She flipped away and stood in the Hyuga stance.

"Uchiha-san, what –"

Swiftly, she took out her kunai and began to block the masses of kunai and shuriken being flung towards her. Hinata's eyes popped out in surprise as she quickly saw Sasuke come behind her. It was too late with exponential speed he had elbowed her in the head.

"Pathetic, where's that 360 degree vision of yours."

Hinata winced at the pain, although her byakugan was activated, Sasuke had moved so fast she had completely missed him.

Sasuke grinned as he watched her bite her lip, "Are you going to cry Hyuga?"

Hinata reacted by immediately going straight into eight trigrams sixty four palms. Sasuke cursed at himself as it was too late to move away. He was already in her range of her jutsu. With alarming speed and strength, Hinata had begun to attack him and blocked his chakra pathway from one strike to sixty four strikes consecutively.

Sasuke breathed out as he was pushed back by Hinata. If he was anyone else, he would not be standing. It was ironic, the Hyuga's were famous for their Gentle Fist style yet Hinata's fists had felt anything but gentle.  
Sasuke grinned, _it was fun while it lasted but perhaps she's reached her limit. _He observed Hinata huffing as she stood across from him in her Hyuga stance. He was being unfair, he admitted. She had been training before he had arrived, so it had only made sense that Hinata would be tired. However, that was pointless to dwell on. In real fights, there were no breaks.

Sasuke still had plenty of stamina to use. He stood up straight and wiped the sweat off his forehead. Since he no longer had any chakra to dispose of – _not that I was using it in the first place_ – Sasuke decided that the little spar could continue on with a particular area.

"Taijustu only, surely you can handle that Hyuga?" He questioned at her fatigued form.

Hinata stood up straight and narrowed her eyes at Sasuke, "Hai" she called out sternly.

Xxx

Sasuke liked to think that he had his emotions under control. However, perhaps he was wrong. His hatred and irritation at Hinata had consumed all of his common sense. Anyway could see that during their spar, Hinata was no match for an opponent like Sasuke. Moreover, she was fatigued and most likely injured. _She has spirit though. _Whilst Sasuke continued to fight with her, he noticed that her willpower and determination was strong. Slowly, her moves became slower, the strength in her hits decreased in force. Yet, she kept on fighting. It had reminded him so much of Naruto that he had gotten annoyed.

_She can't give up in a fight she obviously can't win but she can give up on Naruto? _Sasuke gritted his teeth and ducked at incoming round house kick from her. He retaliated by grabbing her suspended leg and throwing her across the field. 

"Give up Hyuga. It's pointless. You're too weak for me," he called out as he started to walk towards her body. For a second he had though she had died because she was not moving. But he watched her chest rise and then fall slowly. He released a breath of relief. _Naruto would murder me if I killed her by accident. _

"I told you didn't I? That if you hurt Naruto –"

"I know," she whispered. Hinata brought her arm over her eyes, attempting to cover the tears that followed. She began repeating the words under her breath, ignoring the tears dripping down her face.

Sasuke tapped her shoulder with his foot, "Hyuga, shut up. You look hideous when you cry."

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say since Hinata kept crying. Sasuke watched her bite her lip as they began to tremble and eventually her whole body began to shake. Sasuke squinted his eyes shut, hard, for a moment. He then sighed as he opened them, only to find her still crying. He squatted down beside her and moved to tap her on the shoulder but froze midway.

Hinata's breathing had rapidly increased. Her chest was heaving up and down. Her body was sweating and he could not tell if it was from there spar or due to her sudden attack right now.

"Hey Hyuga, talk to me."

Hinata did not respond though. She continued to whisper that she was a failure. She was hopeless. She was a disappointment to herself and her clan. She was unworthy. She was weak. She was pathetic. She was stupid.

Sasuke wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled Hinata up. He positioned her, so that the side of her body leaned against his chest. He then pressed his index and middle finger on her neck, feeling the beat of her heart. _Shit, it's beating fast. _

Sasuke immediately deduced that she was having an anxiety attack. There was no point in telling her to relax. _Come on Sasuke, think of something. Distract her with something. _

"Hey Hyuga, come on look at me," Sasuke grabbed her chin and tried titling it towards his eyes. "Hyuga look at me and count backwards from one hundred."

Hinata removed her arm away from her eyes and met Sasuke's eyes. Hinata was flushed and wide eyed. She turned away immediately, diverting her eyes from Sasuke. He clenched his jaw as he noticed her shortness in breath persisted.  
Suddenly, he surprised both himself and Hinata. Placing his palm behind her head, Sasuke pulled her towards him roughly and kissed her.

Hinata tasted like strawberries, her lips were sweet and despite all the lip biting she did they were delicate. His grip on her head loosened and his hand made its way to her cheek. His thumb caressed her face as he deepened the kiss. Hinata closed her eyes, falling into the kiss and wrapped her arms behind Sasuke's head. Sasuke softly moaned into her mouth as she began to run her fingers through his hair. He licked her lips, desiring for more and Hinata complied. She parted her lips and inhaled the air from Sasuke's lungs and allowed his tongue to enter her mouth. Sasuke opened his eyes quickly as soon as he felt the sensation of her tongue on his. He gazed at Hinata quickly, her face was less pale and she had seemed to calm down. He closed his eyes again, allowing Hinata to take the lead. After all, he had never kissed a girl. _But if this is what I was missing… I want more. _He gently moved his hand behind her head again and began to lower her onto the ground. Hinata opened her eyes in alarm as she felt her back hit the ground lightly. Sasuke parted his lips away from hers as he leaned over her. He placed his forehead on hers, keeping his eyes shut as he released a sigh. _I need to control myself. _

"Sasuke?" she whispered.

Hinata removed her hands away from his hair and placed it gently on his chest. She pressed on his chest softly, trying to push her off him. However, it seemed that Sasuke had other ideas.

Hinata blushed as Sasuke's nose brushed against hers as he moved his head to lean on her shoulder.

Sasuke's breath tickled her skin as he began to speak, "Hinata… just wait a little longer, okay?"

Hinata's breath hitched as she felt his lips press lightly on her neck. It had seemed like his lips were tattooed onto her skin after that. She could feel his chapped lips on her neck even after he removed it. Another minute had passed and the feeling had not disappeared. Suddenly, he rolled off of her and sat up turning his head away from her. Hinata sat up afterwards as well and ran her hands through her hair, trying to calm her senses down.

"He's gone," Sasuke commented in the silence. He looked back at Hinata, enjoying that she was flustered. _I certainly did distract her and in the end I distracted myself as well…_

"Was someone else…" Hinata activated her byakugan and scanned the area. Not too far away, was Naruto walking past the training ground. Hinata panicked, flicking her head back to Sasuke only to be met with a smirk.

"Don't worry, he didn't see a single thing Hyuga. If I stopped kissing you earlier, you would have ran straight into him after leaving."

In Sasuke's mind his main reasoning was that if Naruto saw how beat up and flustered Hinata was and knew that it was Sasuke's fault, he would be spending a long time with Sakura waiting for her to heal him. Deep down though Sasuke knew the real reason. He **_hated _**to admit it. But even he knew the real reason was due to his lust towards her.

Hinata's mouth formed an 'o'. Sasuke clenched his jaw, trying to punish himself. He had foolishly let his perverted thoughts to wonder to what he could fit in there. He looked away from Hinata, as he began to notice that his intense stare on her mouth were making her fidgety.

"Ah – um – arigato Uchiha-san for helping with my attack and with Naruto," she said fumbling over her words.

Hinata stood up and politely bowed. Sasuke tried to ignore her reddened cheeks as she turned to leave. His egotistical side said that it was due to him yet his logical side said that it was due to embarrassment. At the moment, Sasuke wanted to lean more towards his egotistical side.  
Sasuke laid back down on the grass, covering his eyes with his arm. He had tried to supress these urges throughout his teens but it seemed it was of no use now. He gritted his teeth, _I hate hormones. _

xxx

By the time Sasuke returned home, it was late and the people of Konoha were preparing for their evening meals. Sasuke however, could not stomach anything at the moment. His hands trailed over his lips, _I kissed Hinata.  
_After laying on the grass for hours, contemplating about his life and what in the world was he really doing back in Konoha, for some unknown reason everything kept leading back to **_her. _**At first his decision to be here was for Naruto, so the two of them could adjust the shinobi system, he was here to uphold Itachi's sacrifice, and he was here because his only remaining family resided here. Yet he found more reasons for his stay. He was also here because he wanted to re-establish the Uchiha clan, he was here because Sakura needed closure on their strange relationship and he was here because Naruto was an emotional mess and needed him. Somehow Hinata's presence had managed to twist its way into his other reasons. She was the only other person – besides Sakura – that he would consider to be the matriarch of the Uchiha. Every other female had annoyed him, they were nosey and had Sasuke on an idiotic, fanatical pedestal. It irked Sasuke. It was as if he was a piece of meat for all of the females to devour as they pleased. _I hate that. _Sakura was once like those girls back when they first met, but she had grown and Sasuke did not mind her. The only problem was that he viewed her as a sister or a mother, nothing else. Hinata, had irritated him at first. Perhaps it was due to jealousy since her prestigious clan was alive. Or it was the fact that she had consumed a majority of Naruto's thoughts which used to be consumed by Sasuke. _Probably both, _he thought. Sasuke was not a fan of sharing and it had felt bizarre for Hinata's bond with Naruto to **_almost _**be on par with his bond with Naruto. However, he slowly realised that besides all of that, Hinata was an attractive, well-mannered woman. The only other problem he found was that she was the Head of the Hyuga and his best friend's ex-girlfriend. _Though, it didn't stop you from making out with her._

Sasuke sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He felt like a complete and utter dick. Naruto needed support and kissing Hinata was not going to help. Moreover, he needed to stop thinking about her. He slammed the door shut as he walked into Kakashi's apartment. He was startled to find Kakashi on the recliner, reading one of his perverted novels.

"Hello Sasuke, what brings you home?" Kakashi asked, slamming his book shut.

"I do live here Kakashi," he spat out.

"You hardly stay here though," he pointed out.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, _it's too late. Kakashi's already figured out something's wrong. _

"Sit Sasuke, it's been awhile since I've scolded you."

Sasuke glared at Kakashi, scoffing as he made his way to the couch across from him. He flopped onto the couch, and scowled at his former sensei.

"Well?"

Kakashi smiled, "If you were fighting with Naruto you would've returned battered up," in seconds his smile dispersed and Kakashi narrowed his eyes at Sasuke. "So I'm guessing it relates to Naruto one way or another."

Sasuke scoffed, as he circled his shoulder. Hinata had landed a few hits on his shoulder and even now it still hurt, _that damned vixen. _

"Does it have something to do with Hyuga Hinata?"

Sasuke paused and quickly glanced at Kakashi. Their eyes met and Kakashi smiled, flicking his book back open.

"I see," Kakashi continued to glance down at his book, "Hinata-chan is a nice girl. Despite looking meek, she's quite formidable. As the Head of the Hyuga, she's already accomplished a lot that her predecessors could not. I heard it was quite a shock for many of the –"

"We kissed," Sasuke suddenly blurted out quietly.

It was never Sasuke's intention to tell him but the bastard kept talking about her and it had irritated him. He needed to shut him up. Unfortunately, he used the wrong words.

Mid way through turning the page, Kakashi looked back at Sasuke surprised.

"It meant nothing anyway. She was having a panic attack and she wasn't listening to anything I was saying." He quickly gave an excuse, hoping Kakashi would buy it. _It's not like I'm lying anyway. _

Kakashi closed his book shut and leaned forward towards Sasuke. "If it means nothing, why are you thinking so much about it Sasuke?"

Sasuke scowled at Kakashi, "Shut up Kakashi, it meant nothing."

After their bickering, neither males said anything. It was silent for a few minutes until they suddenly heard a knock on the door. Kakashi got up to answer it and Sasuke closed his eyes, welcoming the silence. Abruptly, Sasuke opened his eyes and turned his head to corridor. _Naruto…_

Standing behind him was Sakura, she had looked a little nervous.

"Is something wrong Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto slowly nodded his head with a furrowed brow. "I'm going to tell you all about what really happened between me and Hinata."

Xxx

Hinata released a sigh relief as she began to re-organise her papers from today's meeting with the elders. They had just finished going through finalising the agreement of not performing the cursed seal on any newborns in the branch family. Hinata was beaming on the inside. _Neji-niisan, Otousan, Okasan, I finally did it. _Hinata could feel her mouth hurting her from trying to hold in her grin. She had to remind herself that as a Hyuga, they were infamous for never showing emotions. The elders had agreed that at the next clan meeting, they would announce this new agreement. It had taken Hinata hours and hours, of writing and researching but today it had finally paid off. _One step at a time Hinata. _

Hinata was standing up to leave until she noticed one of the elders, usher her to sit down again.

"We would like to ask you a personal question, Hinata-sama."

The elder nearest the scribe ordered them to stop writing and to leave the room. Hinata gripped her yukata, trying to hide her nerves. Once the scribe had left, it was her grandfather who spoke to her first.

"What is the relationship between you and Uzumaki Naruto?"

Hinata frowned, _are they seriously asking this again. _Before she could respond, her grandfather added, "there was word that you were seen together at the Hinami festival, do you care to explain Hinata-sama?"

"As I have answered **_many_** times before, Naruto-kun and I are no longer romantically together. I was given a time frame to answer him with my feelings after evaluating a personal situation, which I will add **_does not_** affect any of you. During the Hinami festival, I gave him my answer and we have both chosen to remain as friends. We spending some time together at the festival was an example of this desired friendship as well as closure. I am sure many of you have experienced these feelings. I ask that you do not ask about our relationship again."

Normally, the elders dismissed her last statement and ignored it. But today, her grandfather had nodded his head.

"As you wish Hinata-sama."

Hinata stood up and prepared to bow, hoping to take her leave. It had been such a long morning. But it seemed like the elders had even more questions for her.

"Should we send you a list of suitable bachelors then? It's imperative a heir is produced Hinata-sama. The sooner the better. A shinobi life is unpredictable."

Hinata narrowed her eyes at the elders, "There's no need to send a list. I'm still young and do not plan on marrying right away. Moreover, Hanabi-chan plans to challenge the position of head next year. We can discuss heirs and marriage after that."

She listened to the elders bicker amongst themselves, finally her grandaunt repeats the same thing she says every time they get into a discussion about Hinata's love life.

"You should at least be thinking of a suitable partner Hinata-sama."

Hinata faked a smile, "Of course."

"One last thing, what is your relationship with Uchiha Sasuke?"

Hinata's breathe hitches. Not once had they ever asked her about **_him. _** Hinata urgently tried to control the blush threatening to surface.

"We are merely acquaintances," she bit her lip and noticed her grandfather narrow his eyes at her. _I'm done for, oh kami. _

"We've heard a lot about you two being seen together in public, talking like friends."

Hinata fakes a smile, "it's important to be on friendly terms with our neighbours and comrades."

Hinata releases a sigh of relief as she hears the elders nod and mutter between themselves. Hopefully, they would buy that. _Oh kami, if they knew that yesterday she had practically made out with him_. Hinata shook her head, _don't think about it Hinata. Don't think about it. _

She turned her head to the door when a servant walked in, bowing towards them.

"Pardon the intrusion, but Hinata-sama, Uchiha-sama has been asking for you my lady."

Hinata's eyes became wide, _no, no, no. _

"Please tell Uchiha-san I am in the middle of a meeting."

"I have told him that, but he has been here since the morning and refuses to leave."

Hinata bit her lip, "Very well, tell him I'll be with him in a moment. Bring him to my private quarters."

She flicked her head back to the elders and bowed. "Please excuse me, this meeting is over correct?"

The elders nodded and dismissed her. On her way out she heard them talking between themselves.

"Acquaintances? Hinata-sama has gotten better at lying."

"She's never brought another man into her private quarters that was not a Hyuga."

"Let her do as she pleases, she's the Head after all."

"Uchiha Sasuke though… how very interesting. Imagine if they were to get married. We could end up running the Uchiha clan as well if we wanted to."

"A child of two different dojutsus though… that would be fascinating."

Furious by their comments, Hinata turned her head back to them, "I nor Uchiha-san would ever produce a child for your own selfish desires and benefits. Uchiha-san is not the type of person to let himself be manipulated again by the likes of you elders."

It was her grandaunt who laughed and gave her a mischievous grin, "She did not deny that they were not acquaintances. Something truly is going on."

Hinata stormed out – as ladylike as she possibly could – and smacked herself on her cheeks. _Pull yourself together Hinata. _Somehow the elders always knew how to get under her skin.

Hinata took deep breathes in and out as she made her way to her private quarters. Ever since yesterday's incident, Hinata had tried to distract herself from anything that related to Uchiha Sasuke. It was impossible though. She could not stop thinking about him and his stupid lips against hers and on her neck.

_I wonder what he wants though. _Hinata came to her door and opened it and closed it behind her once she was inside. She observed Sasuke sitting against the wall with his eyes closed. He opened his eyes once her footsteps got closer, he opened his mouth to talk but Hinata had immediately blocked his tenketsu points, so he could not move.

"The hell is this Hyuga?"

Hinata kneeled in front of him, her head cast downwards. "You have waited outside since morning, I'm sure you have the capability to wait a little a longer."

"What did you –"

She snapped her head up at him, her cheeks were reddened. Eventually, she blurted it all out. "I was just – just embarrassed because of you! In front of the whole council, I've been made a laughing stock in a matter of seconds because of you," she shook her head, "they think we're dating!" She said incredulously while laughing awkwardly.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows at her and it irritated Hinata, she hated when he did that. It was as if she was a fool because he could not understand what she was trying to say.

"I don't understand Uchiha-san. First, you – you run into me and blame it on me. Then you insulted me and stared at me for a while without any words and then just leave."

Without realising it, Hinata had moved closer to Sasuke's face, until her fists were slamming against his chest and tears were flooding her face.

"Then you're rude again to me and then yesterday…you you start attacking me and – and – and you kiss me! YOU KISS ME."

Hinata dropped her head onto his shoulder and continued to cry and hiccupped.

"I just don't understand Uchiha-san. Don't you hate me? Why?"

She heard Sasuke sigh, "You're right, I do hate you. But I came here to apologise. It's something I rarely do, so stop crying so you can hear me. "

Hinata flicked her head back up Sasuke, her eyes wide with surprise "Nani?"

"I'm sorry," he said quietly and sincerely.

Hinata's mouth was agape as she gripped his shirt. "I don't understand," she whispered.

"I'm not going to repeat it Hyuga."

"You called me Hinata last night…"

"Hn"

"Uchiha-san, I don't understand."

"Hinata… get off of me, you're ruining my shirt."

Hinata released her clutch on his shirt and wiped her tears away. "Oh, gomen… Thank you Uchiha-san."

Suddenly he pulled on her yukata until their faces were inches apart. Hinata blushed at the intensifying stare of his eyes, never breaking eye contact with him. She had always managed to lose herself in his eyes.

"Last night," he whispered, "I heard you call me Sasuke,"

Hinata's breathe hitched as she watched Sasuke lick his lips.

"Sasuke-kun," she replied.

"Just Sasuke, no honorifics, I hate that."

Before she knew it Sasuke's lips were hovering over hers.

xxx

**please review :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**

**So I've had quite a few reviews freaking about their relationship being rushed. Moreover, that both Hinata and Sasuke are cruel to Naruto, especially Sasuke since he knows the truth now. **

**First of all, it was not my intention to rush their relationship but both of them are attracted to one another. It would be realistic for Sasuke to have a lot of sexual tension, so it makes sense how he acts around Hinata. Furthermore, Hinata naturally still has feelings for Naruto BUT it has been almost half a year. She's changed and so have her feelings. It is not as if Hinata is drastically throwing herself at Sasuke. That will not happen. **

**I think that's all I had to clarify. **

**On another note, THANK YOU ALL FOR THE REVIEWS, FOLLOWS AND FAVOURITES! It really does make me happy. **

**This was an interesting chapter to write, hope you all enjoy. It's a short chapter, sorry I've been quite busy. **

Hinata felt her heartbeat accelerate as she felt Sasuke's hot breathe on her. _He's so close. _She felt flushed and nervous. Somehow, Sasuke had remained stoic. His eyes were locked on hers.

She could not take it anymore. As his dark eyes pierced through her, she felt the emotions of bitterness, desire and sympathy all directed towards her. Swiftly, she placed her palm over his mouth, attempting to push Sasuke away from her. Hinata panicked as she heard footsteps approaching. She paused and glanced to her door, biting her lip. _Who could it be?_

"Nani? Onee-san is talking with Uchiha-san right now? That's strange," Hinata listened to Hanabi's footsteps die out as what Hinata assumed Hanabi turning the corner of the hallway, "I'll talk to onee-san later then."

Hinata let out a sigh of relief once Hanabi had left. She did not want **_anyone _**to be in the room whilst she was talking to Sasuke. Somehow, he had always managed to stir up her composure. He consistently surprised her, it was infuriating to Hinata. It was the reason she had specifically chosen to talk to Sasuke in her private quarters. By doing so, none of the servants could pop in and spy on them. Hinata had a feeling that a few of the servants would report to the elders anything they discovered about Hinata and Sasuke's relationship.

_Wait. Are we even friends? What is the relationship between Sasuke and myself? I always say its acquaintances but –_

Hinata's thoughts trailed off as she felt Sasuke pull her hair. She winced at the pain. Hinata removed her hand from his lips as she narrowed her eyes at him. At the same time, Sasuke let go of her hair and leaned in towards her ear.

"**_This _**won't ever happen again."

Hinata nodded her head, agreeing with Sasuke. Hinata easily came to a conclusion – Sasuke was attractive but she was not interested. She had no time for relationships. After everything with Naruto, Hinata wanted to focus on herself. Besides, she was positive that whatever was going on between them was **_nothing. _**They were after all, practically strangers to one another.

Sasuke sat back and turned his head away from her eyes, looking out at the window.

"There's no need for Naruto to know. The two of you already have enough shit to deal with between one another."

"I understand Uchiha-san. There is nothing to discuss. We are merely acquaintances that have nothing to do with another."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her, "I thought I told you to call me Sasuke."

"It is impolite to call a stranger by their first name."

"Is that so?"

Hinata nodded and she tensed as she saw Sasuke smirk.

"I guess you're right. After all, you mean **_nothing _**to me Hyuga."

Hinata titled her head down and gripped her yukata. She shot her head back up quickly, looking at him with a fake smile.

"I'm glad we feel the same way."

xx

After Sasuke had left, Hinata had returned back to her quarters, ignoring the nosey servants and their pestering questions. She stripped off her yukata and began to run herself a bath. Using her fingers, Hinata brushed through her hair as she waited for her bath. Once it was done, she removed her underwear and sunk herself in the bubbly, warm water.

She blushed as she ran her fingers across her neck. The tingling sensation she had felt from when Sasuke had kissed her neck was still there.

She wondered if he had known about her and Naruto. _Of course he knows, why else would he come to apologise?  
_Hinata closed her eyes, recalling the day of the Hinami festival. After apologising to Naruto about not being able to return his feelings anymore. He had asked her if it was okay for him to tell Team 7. Hinata of course allowed it. These past months she had felt isolated and terrified. It took her awhile to realise that she had isolated herself from the world. Her fears and anxieties stemmed from having no support besides Naruto and Tsunade. However, she had foolishly blocked both of them out of her lives.

_I'm so stupid. _

Hinata sighed and closed her eyes. Slowly, she began to drift off into slumber.

Xx

"Onee-san, wake up!"

Hinata opened her eyes to find black tresses tickling her face.

Hanabi removed herself away from Hinata and took a step back from Hinata's bath.

"Hanabi-chan?" Hinata yawned and rubbed her eyes. Her neck had felt stiff from falling asleep. She looked at her hands, they were wrinkly.

"Congratulations!"

"Hm, for what?" Hinata questioned.

"For getting rid of the branch seal! I knew you could do it."

Hanabi turned around to grab a towel for Hinata and handed it back to her. "By the way, Ino-chan and Kiba-kun are here to visit."

"Oh, Arigato. " She took the towel from her sister and stood up, drying herself up.

"Please tell them I'll be with them in a moment."

Hanabi nodded and then smirked, "Hey onee-san, what was Uchiha-san doing here? In your private quarters as well hmm…"

Hinata poked her tongue at her sister, "Are you jealous?"

Hanabi blushed and crossed her arms, turning her head away from Hinata. "Why would I – "

She stopped as she heard Hinata giggling. Hinata ruffled Hanabi's hair, "Business reasons, don't worry."

Hanabi mumbled, "You say not to worry but I'll still worry."

Hinata smiled, "Arigato for worrying but I'd prefer if you focused on yourself."

Hanabi rolled her eyes and left the room, allowing Hinata to dress up. She quickly ran to her room and began to find clothes to wear. She quickly put on her underwear and pulled out a long skirt and singlet from her draw. Once putting them on, she grabbed her brush and began brushing her hair as she walked towards her door. She glanced at the mirror quickly and breathed in and out. Placing her brush down on the table, Hinata left to finally go greet Ino and Kiba.

Hinata smiled warmly as she saw Kiba and Ino in the distance. They were sitting together on one of the couches, chatting idly to Hanabi. She was glad Kiba had finally found someone. Hinata had never been close to Ino in the past, but she always thought that Ino was wonderful. It wasn't until they were teenagers did Hinata begin to talk to Ino more. She was glad that two of her friends had found love with each other.

As if smelling her presence, Akamaru barked and both Kiba and Ino turned their heads to face her.

"Hinata-chan!" They both called out. She giggled as she watched the couple glare at one another. Ino poked her tongue out at Kiba and stood up to hug Hinata first. Hinata returned the hug.

"Hello Ino-chan, Kiba-kun and Akamaru, it's good to see you three."

Ino smiled, "It has been awhile ne? Even at the Hinami festival we hardly saw you but –"

Ino was shushed as Kiba yanked her arm, causing her to stumble into his chest. He grinned and then sauntered his way over to Hinata, placing an arm over her shoulder.

"Ne, Hinata-chan. How about coming for lunch with us at Kurenai-sensei's? Shino, Shikamaru and Choji will be there as well."

Hinata beamed, "I'd like that."

She was content walking beside Ino, who was happily telling her how Kiba had surprised her with flowers the other day. Kiba blushed and crossed his arms, mumbling that Ino could never keep her mouth shut. Ino had responded by pulling his ear, until Kiba had apologised. Hinata giggled at their playfulness. Akamaru, whom seemed used to it, barked happily as he trotted beside her.

"Say Hinata-chan, I didn't know you and Sasuke-kun were friends."

Hinata opened her mouth to answer but closed it immediately. Hinata was unable to come up with a reasonable response.

Kiba nodded his head and said, "Yeah, that's right. We came to yours earlier and Sasuke was there. After the guards told us you were unavailable **_he _**refused to leave. From what Akamaru and I could smell it smells like he only just left recently too."

Hinata frowned, "We're just acquaintances."

Kiba narrowed his eyes, "Strangers don't wait hours just for someone."

She blushed and she cursed herself for allowing herself to blush. From the corner of her eyes she saw Kiba and Ino be taken aback by her reddened cheeks.

"Hinata-chan… you're not…" Ino trailed off and stared at Hinata uneasily.

Hinata's eyes widened. She shook her heard aggressively. Denying all of the accusations the two of them seemed to hold.

"No – no – it's not – No," she paused, trying to compose herself, "he came for business reasons. After the attack from Pein, the Hyuga's took care of the Uchiha estate. There were some papers he needed."

Kiba and Ino nodded understandingly. Hinata breathed a sigh of relief as she dodged that bullet. _It's not as if I'm lying. The Hyuga's did look after the estate. He'll be coming one day to ask for the papers. _

"Sorry Hinata-chan for assuming something so morbid. It's not like you would ever be interested in Sasuke-kun anyway. Besides, he and Naruto are like brothers. That'd be a bit weird and rude to Naruto."

Hinata immediately felt the guilt rise up in her chest. It was as if she had **_cheated _**on Naruto. Which, she had to remind herself numerous times was untrue. They were not together. Hinata wondered if Sasuke had felt the same way. This feeling of despair gnawing at her stomach and forcing her to be at a loss of words. She hated this feeling. She hated feeling as if she had betrayed Naruto. _Surely, Sasuke feels the same way. After all, Naruto is precious to him as well. _

"There's also Sakura to think about as well," Kiba added.

Ino nodded, "She's still in love with Sasuke-kun, even though that jerk rejected her."

Hinata felt even worse. Sakura was a friend. Friends do not kiss the person they're in love with. It was because she understood how much Sakura was in love with Sasuke that she had felt horrible.

"I understand Sakura's feelings," she muttered. It was mainly to herself but Kiba and Ino had both overheard her.

Kiba looked at her with a worried expression, "Hinata-chan… are you still –"

"Of course," she answered quietly. Hinata pushed a strand of her behind her ear and took a deep breath in.

"There will always be a small spot in my heart that will love Naruto-kun."

"Then why did you break up with him?"

Hinata frowned, "At first, I always thought I was doing him a favour. But I realise now that was an excuse. I'm not the same person who fell in love with him. As I began to change as a person, I also grew out of my love for Naruto-kun. I'm not sure if that makes sense but our paths can no longer intertwine in the way we had always imagined in the beginning… The end of our roads are just too different."

Kiba scratched his cheek, "I don't really understand Hinata-chan but I'll support whatever decision you make."

Ino smiled at her, "I'll always be here for you as well."

Hinata beamed, "Arigato."

Xxx

Hinata dropped onto Kureani's sofa, letting a soft groan. Hinata had forgotten how irresistible her sensei's cooking could be. She had eaten way too much. Moreover, Mirai, Kureani's daughter, had insisted that they also eat dessert – chocolate ice cream.  
At first Hinata had denied, she had one too many servings of lunch. Yet, Mirai was saddened by the thought that Hinata could not join everyone with eating chocolate ice cream. The poor girl was almost on the verge of tears that Hinata had given in. It had not helped that Hinata had a sweet tooth for chocolate ice cream and could not resist the puppy dog eyes from the toddler.

_I feel sick. _

Choji had sat beside her and patted his belly. "That was amazing."

Hinata nodded, "Way too amazing." _That I ate so much!_

"So how's being the clan head? Paps wants me to take over in a few years, so you know I wondered if you could give any tips on running a clan."

Hinata blushed, "You really want advice from me?"

Choji grinned, nodding enthusiastically.

"Well – Let's see," Hinata tapped her chin, thinking about what to say. "I'm not sure what to say Choji-kun. It is a busy job though. Since we're from different clans, certain procedures and what not are probably structured differently. For example, I am not permitted to go on missions but I'm aware that your Otousan used to go on missions."

"I see what you mean... anything else Hinata-chan?"

Hinata bit her lip, "I'm not sure what else to say. I haven't accomplished a lot –"

"I'm sure abolishing the branch seal is quite an accomplishment," Shikamaru said as he walked in to the lounge.

Behind him Kurenai-sensei, Mirai, Kiba, Shino and Ino followed, gasping at Shikamaru revelation.

"Hinata-chan really!?" Kiba exclaimed.

Hinata nodded shyly, "Yes everything was confirmed this morning."

"That's amazing Hinata-chan!" Choji and Ino said simultaneously.

"You never fail to surprise me Hinata-chan." Kurenai said smiling warmly.

Shino nodded, "As always Hinata-chan exceeds the expectations of others."

Hinata felt her cheeks hurt from smiling so long. Even Mirai had gotten excited she joined in the commotion, clapping her hands and giggling.

Hinata glanced towards Shikamaru who grinned. "Your sister came into the Academy and blurted it out to everyone. She was quite proud."

Hinata laughed, "That sounds exactly like Hanabi-chan."

She was glad she had agreed to come. It had been far too long since Hinata had last enjoyed herself with the people she regarded as her second family. She truly did miss this.

Xxx

Four months had passed since she had last spoken to Sasuke. She had avoided him at every possible moment. It had also helped that he was also quite busy on missions and with rebuilding the Uchiha district. However, since he spent a lot of time in the Uchiha district, it also meant he had to walk past the Hyuga compound. Hinata would always use her byakugan to check that he was not nearby whenever she exited the compound. She would also check the training grounds and almost everywhere she would go. Luckily, it seemed like Sasuke was also avoiding her. It was as if they had both silently agreed between the other that the other did not exist.

It was a cold way of dealing with the awkwardness and tension they had but it was the only way. Hinata could not stand losing her composure anymore. For four months she had managed that. All it took was avoiding Sasuke.

Naruto on the other hand, she talked to on occasions. It had been strange at first because Hinata had no idea what to say. However, eventually Hinata had gotten the groove of it and their conversations albeit short, were no longer tense or awkward.

Hinata hummed to herself a happy tune as she entered the supermarket. Hinata had given the day off the servants today. Thus, Hinata had been taking care of the cooking for herself and Hanabi. Hinata made her way to the fruit and vegetable sections, looking for the tomatoes. Hanabi had begged for tomato soup and Hinata had easily complied. She pulled out a plastic bag as she got closer to the tomatoes, _there are only two left, perfect! _It was exactly the right amount she needed.

Hinata picked up one tomato and placed in her bag. As she went to go pick up the last one, Hinata gasped as another hand overlapped hers suddenly.

She groaned inwardly as she recognised whom it was. Her four lucky months of not coming into contact with Sasuke had ended.

"That's **_my _**tomato, Hyuga."

Hinata scowled, "I don't see your name on it Uchiha-san."

xx

**I'm really excited for the next chapter, so please review as reviews fuel me to write even more! Haha, thanks for reading xx**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed, also to everyone who followed and added this story to their favourites. It makes me feel all giddy and happy that I'm getting all this positive feedback!**

**To clarify with the time line, in the last chapter there was a time skip of four months. So at the moment it is currently July in the story. **

**This is a short chapter, sorry. Quite a few things happen in this chapter, building it up to the next arc of the story. I'm extremely excited for it all to happen :) **

** Chapter 10:**

The last four months of ignoring Hinata had diminished in seconds. He clicked his tongue, annoyed that she could easily get under his skin with one sentence. Sasuke tightened his grip on her hand, narrowing his eyes at her.

"Give me the tomato Hyuga."

"No."

"Hyuga…"

"Uchiha-san, I believe you have your own tomatoes growing in your yard," she pursed her lips.

Sasuke scowled, she was right. He did have a section of his garden dedicated to tomatoes. However, he had already consumed them all. He **_needed_** this tomato.

"I do," he replied.

Hinata huffed, "Then don't be so selfish!"

She placed free hand on top of his, trying to pry it off of her other hand. Sasuke clamped his hand on tight, he was **_not _**letting go of her hand. He needed that tomato.

"I ate them all Hyuga so – wait," Sasuke smirked at her, "how do you know I have tomatoes in my garden?"

He laughed inwardly as he watched Hinata turn a shade of red. _I've got you now Hyuga. _

"I – I – don't know what – I don't – I have no idea what you mean," she said stumbling through her words.

Sasuke leaned in towards her, bending down a little so his head was directly in front of hers.

"How do you know I have my own garden?" he asked.

Surprised by the closeness of his face, Hinata turned her head away from his gaze. She bit her lip, before answering.

"I've just heard about it," she muttered.

Sasuke smirked, using his new hand – he had finally succumbed to the constant nagging of team 7 and Tsunade about the prosthetic arm, because it truly made life a hell lot easier he would admit – he grabbed her chin, forcing her to face his way again.

"Don't lie to me Hyuga, you've been spying on me," he said in a smug tone.

Hinata's eyes widened, "Nani? No!"

Hinata smacked his hand away from her chin, pouting. "I would have no interest on spying on you."

He scoffed, "But you **_do. _**It wouldn't be hard for you anyway. You probably sit in your room and watch me take a shower for – "

Sasuke stopped as he noticed Hinata was extremely flushed. _Honestly, she gets embarrassed by the simplest things._

"Hinata," he said quietly, "relax. I'm just joking."

Hinata glared at him before sighing.

"You're not the type to joke," she said.

"There's a lot you don't know about me Hyuga. So don't make assumptions… Anyway let go of the tomato. I need it for my soup."

"What a coincidence, I need it as well," she said mockingly.

He scowled, "I need it more."

Hinata activated her byakugan and in response, Sasuke activated both his rinnegan and sharigan. The two continued to glare at one another, ignoring the frightened customers screaming and rushing out of the store.

Xxxx

Kakashi Hatake massaged his temples as he let out a huge sigh. He had a very taxing day full of endless paperwork_, _giving stamps of approval or disapproval on infrastructure, missions and anything else one could think of. He did it **_all. _** After being the Hokage for two years, he had realised why Tsunade had always ran to alcohol during the job or afterwards. However, Shizune had implemented a strict no alcohol on the job rule – which he had followed to avoid being scolded. Kakashi twirled his chair to face the window of his office. He smiled as he stared out at Konoha. The sun was beginning to set and slowly he watched as the villagers turned on their lights. He twirled back to his desk, reaching out to his draw where he kept a bottle of sake.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Shizune entered in a flustered state.

"Hokage-sama!"

Kakashi felt tension in his neck. The tone she used was only reserved when Naruto and Sasuke had gotten into a fight between another.

Kakashi stood up, making his way towards her. "What did they do now?"

Shizune shook her head.

"It's Sasuke and Hinata-chan. They almost got into a fight."

Kakashi froze. It was a strange, he was sure Sasuke was attracted to Hinata. _Why would he fight with her?_

"Where?"

"In a supermarket. All the civilians evacuated the moment they both activated their dojutsus. I have various witness reports and complaints. Moreover, the owner of the store is demanding punishment for the two."

Kakashi nodded and listened to the rest of Shizune's recount on the situation. Once she was done, Kakashi strolled to his desk, leaned against it and brought his hand to his chin. He tapped it, thinking of what he should do next. There were so many pieces to this jigsaw of a problem he was missing. _Why would they fight? _

He flicked his head back to Shizune, "Where are Sasuke and Hinata-chan now?"

"They're outside," she gestured to the door with her hand, "shall I call them in now?"

He nodded, watching as Shizune exited and Sasuke and Hinata entered. Hinata closed the door behind her. Kakashi noticed her head was bowed down low. The two came to halt, standing a metre away from Kakashi and metre apart from one another. He observed them for a few seconds. Sasuke had both his hands in his pockets, his eyes gazing past Kakashi. Kakashi knew it the moment Sasuke walked in – Sasuke was exasperated.  
Hinata on the other hand, seemed to be ashamed, nervous and similar to Sasuke also irritated. _That's interesting. _

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the two.

"So," he began, "the both of you almost injured various civilians over one tomato?"

Sasuke looked back at him, as if Kakashi had asked an outrageous question. Hinata bit her lip and looked down at her feet. She clenched her fists and flicked her head back at him.

"Hai…"

"No one died, so I don't see why they're causing such a commotion over it," Sasuke commented.

"You're right," he answered.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at Kakashi.

"However, Sasuke, people felt like they were going to die. Sasuke many shinobi and civilians are aware of your visual prowess...abilities which are known to be fatal."

"Hn."

Kakashi turned his head to face to Hinata.

"Hinata-chan…You're also from a powerful clan with visual prowess. More importantly, you're the Head of the Hyuga. Sasuke, you're the last Uchiha, hence, making you the Head. Behaviour like this is unacceptable from the both of you."

Hinata clasped her hands together and bowed.

"Sumimasen, Hokage-sama. It will not happen again," she said.

"Hinata-chan, I've told you so many times to just call me Kakashi-sensei. It feels –"

"Kakashi," Sasuke called out.

Kakashi turned to face his former pupil, wondering what Sasuke had in store for him. Sasuke's head was titled down, his bangs covered his eyes. He gritted his teeth.

"I don't fucking care about any –"

"You're shinobi. **_You _**protect the village. Itachi –"

**_Bang!_**

Xxxx

Hinata immediately stood up straight the moment she heard the impact. She gasped. Sasuke had pinned Kakashi to the wall, his aura was menacing.

"Don't you dare fucking bring Itachi into this!" he yelled.

Hinata watched as Sasuke's grip tightened on Kakashi's collar.

"Uchiha-san, I think –"

"Shut up Hyuga," he snarled out.

Sasuke's head snapped to face Hinata, she yelped as she met his purple eye. Suddenly, Sasuke had thrown an uppercut on her. Hinata groaned at the crunching sound of her jaw. Hinata's body went flying across the room. Her head hit the desk. She lost consciousness instantly.

Xxx

Sasuke clenched his jaw as he watched Hinata faint onto the ground. He had placed her in quite a violent genjutsu. _Hopefully, that keeps her away for a while. _

"Sasuke," Kakashi called out.

He flicked his head back to Kakashi, deactivating his rinnegan and letting go of his former sensei. He ran his hand through his hair, walking towards Hinata's body.

"Did you really have to put her in a genjutsu?" He asked

"Hn."

"Sasuke, you can't treat every woman you feel something for like this," Kakashi warned.

Sasuke's eye twitched. _The only emotion I feel towards her is hate… and lust. Mainly, hate though. _He would never tell anyone that though.

Sasuke crouched beside Hinata's body, picking her up and chucking her over his shoulder. He picked up her bag as well, attaching it to her arm.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just wake her up?" Kakashi asked.

"No. This way she won't annoy me," he replied.

Kakashi nodded and walked over to this desk. He opened a draw, pulled out some papers and skimmed through them until he found a certain page.

"Ah – here it is," he pulled out the page, waving it in front of Sasuke, "tomorrow, I want the both of you to report here. You'll be doing various D-rank missions as punishment."

He gritted his teeth, "D-rank?"

Kakashi smiled, "I can always change the rank later, based on how well you perform the first few ones."

Sasuke nodded and turned on his heel to walk to the door. He paused though, as he felt Kakashi place a hand on his free shoulder.

"Unfortunately, Hinata-chan here can't leave the village. So…"

_Fucking bastard. He would be stuck doing D-rank missions no matter what._

"How long will this last?"

Kakashi scratched his cheek, "Hm… until I'm completely satisfied that Hinata-chan and you get along. So, until that happens you're excluded from all Anbu missions."

Sasuke adjusted Hinata on his shoulder and left the office without a word. He ignored the stares and whispers of the people he walked past. He smirked. Without even trying he had probably tarnished a little of Hinata's reputation.  
He glanced at her body – mainly her rear since it was so close to his face. _She's got a nice ass. _He wondered if she would ever wake up from the genjutsu. He was aware that her former sensei was an expert in genjutsu, so it was possible she had some skills in it. However, she didn't seem to be the genjutsu type.

As he got closer to the Hyuga compound, he wondered if he should just drop her off there or take her to the Uchiha compound. He decided against taking her home as it would mean answering to the Hyuga's and them getting the wrong idea. He was already irritated from earlier. He didn't need to be pissed off even more.

As he walked up the steps to his household, he felt Hinata's head bob against his back. He slipped his free hand into his pocket, reaching for his key. He unlocked the door and kicked it open. Sasuke entered his quiet, empty house and closed the door behind him by kicking it close. He placed Hinata's body on the ground near the entrance gently. He then slipped off his shoes and whispered.

"Tadaima."

He crouched down next to Hinata and took off her shoes, placing them next to his. He glanced at it for a few seconds, a peculiar feeling bubbling inside him. He disregarded it as he picked Hinata back up, throwing her across his shoulder. He walked over to the couch and dumped her body on it. Hinata landed abruptly, almost falling off the couch. Sasuke walked over to the light switch, turning it on. He stared at Hinata's chest, slowly rising and falling. Sweat dripping off her face. He sighed as he walked towards her. He crouched down, running his finger down her jawline. Her skin was so delicate and soft. He brought his finger towards her bangs, brushing them away from her eyes. _Even her hair feels smooth. _Sasuke glanced at the rest of her face, noticing an eyelash was stuck on her cheek. He moved his hand down to remove it but stopped himself. Instead he applied a sudden surge of chakra into Hinata.

Hinata's eyes fluttered open and met Sasuke's eyes. He stood up and walked over to the door, opening it wide.

"Get out."

Hinata hoisted herself up from the couch and pattered towards the door. He turned around to face her as she got closer. Sasuke watched as Hinata opened her mouth to say something but closed it as if second guessing it. She slipped on her shoes and then brushed past him. Sasuke leaned against the door, watching her walk down the steps. Suddenly, she turned around with reddened cheeks.

"Gomenasai!"

Hinata bowed, then turned around to leave. Sasuke smirked at her sudden apology.

"I'll see you in the morning Hyuga," he said quietly in an ominous tone.

Hinata quickly turned around, "Nani? Did you say something?"

"No."

Sasuke slammed the door shut and walked to the kitchen. His stomach growled at the thought of finally being able to have dinner. However, he was disappointed to know that he would not be having tomato soup. As he turned on the light of the kitchen, he halted in surprise.

On the kitchen bench was a bright, red tomato.

**xxxx**

**So excited for next chapter, there will be quite a lot more of Sasuke and Hinata moments to come.**

**Thanks for reading :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi guys, sorry that last weeks was very short! I've been super busy and super sick so it's been quite hard to find the time to juggle all my other responsibilities as well as writing. **

**Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favourites. You're all great.**

**This is a long chapter and I really loved writing out the scenes between Sasuke and Hinata, so enjoy! **

**Chapter 11: **

Sakura stretched her arms as she walked out of the hospital. She had been working at the hospital since the morning and had finally been permitted to take a break. She squinted her eyes at the blazing sun – _it's already noon. _Sakura blushed as she heard her stomach rumble.  
She began making her way to the Yamanaka's flower shop to meet Ino. Today, Ino was working at her family's shop, so they had promised to eat lunch together.  
As Sakura walked alone, she noticed that there were a swarm of couples in the village suddenly. _Was it always like this? _It seemed that everyone was getting into relationships except her. There was Naruto and Hinata, whom were a very famous couple around the village. However, they were no longer together. There was also Kiba and Ino whom seemed to be steadily together. Sakura recalled Ino stating that Kiba was the one for her. Sakura was also aware of the secretive relationship between Shikamaru and Temari. Ino had given her all the details, saying that they weren't official but they were seeing each other. Sakura sighed, as she watched two strangers embrace on the street. She turned her head to the other side of the street but it was futile. Walking side by side, a little too close to just be friends was Hinata's little sister, Hanabi, and Konohamaru. Sakura was surprised. _When did that happen? _

Sakura frowned as she turned the corner. She knew that there were others who weren't in relationships but she felt… lonely. Sakura would be lying if she said she wasn't in love with Sasuke. Sasuke had brought her so much pain but he had changed her. She became stronger because of him. He had motivated her to change. Sasuke was Sasuke. She couldn't describe it what her love was towards him. However, it would always be there. She clutched the fabric of her jacket. It was obvious Sasuke didn't feel the same way. One could see it through his actions. He had even told her that he could not love her in the way she wanted to be love. Sakura was content with that, so she thought. She thought she could be happy with just being seen as family to Sasuke but she wanted more. She felt selfish. _I need to get over Sasuke. _Especially after what she saw yesterday. She remembered feeling confused and hurt. Sasuke carrying Hinata to his home… it was so out of the blue she did not know how to react. Moreover, to top it all off there were rumours floating around the hospital that Sasuke and Hinata had gotten into some sort of trouble together last night. Shizune had mentioned the two –

"Hey Sakura-chan!"

Sakura flipped her head to the voice that always warmed her heart. She smiled as he got closer.

"Naruto, you're back."

He nodded cheerfully as he placed his hands behind his head.

"Yep! The mission was a piece of cake."

Sakura smiled. Soon, Naruto would be taking over as Hokage. Due to this, he was taking more missions. She wondered though, if he had taken lots of missions to heal his heart as well. It was obvious to those close to Naruto that he was still heartbroken over Hinata. Despite the two talking and it supposedly not being awkward, there was unspoken tension. _Should I tell him about what I saw or… _

"Speaking of cake," she mused, "do you know what type of cake Sasuke-kun likes?"

Naruto shrugged, "Sasuke hates sweets… wait his birthday isn't til another month or something."

Sakura fumed. She was already aware that Sasuke was not fond of sweets. Sakura wanted there to be cake though, it only seemed fitting for a birthday after all. She smacked Naruto on the head.

"You idiot," she huffed, "Sasuke-kun's birthday is tomorrow**_. _**We're having dinner at my place… You didn't forget did you?"

Naruto rubbed his head where Sakura had hit him. He laughed awkwardly.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan, I wouldn't miss your home-made cooking for the world dattebayo," he teased.

"Don't say such stupid things Naruto."

"Oh! That reminds me, have you seen Sasuke? I need to talk to him."

Sakura hesitated for a moment. She wanted to tell Naruto what she saw but perhaps there was really nothing going on. However, she had never seen Sasuke carry anyone. It was all so confusing. She didn't want to start trouble. Especially if there really was a love triangle going on.

"Hey earth to Sakura-chan," Naruto said as he waved his hands in front of her face.

Sakura shook her head, embarrassed that she spaced out.

"Oh! Gomen, Naruto…. Uh, I think Sasuke-kun's on a mission? I overhead from Shizune that Kakashi-sensei has given Sasuke a mission as punishment."

"Punishment? What'd he do?" He asked.

Sakura frowned.

"I'm not sure on the full story but apparently it's related to Hinata-chan… I saw him carrying her last night so –"

Before she could finish Naruto dashed off towards the Hokage tower. She smacked her forehead with her palm. _You've done it now Sakura. _

Xxxxx

"Sasuke! What did you do to Hinata?" Naruto growled.

Kakashi sighed as he stretched his neck. After last night, he was hoping today would be peaceful. Yet as he watched Naruto pin Sasuke to the wall and Sasuke smirking he realised it would be another crazy day. It seemed that his former students still enjoyed being rivals over one thing or another. He would probably have to bring in someone to clean his office later. One could never be certain on how much property Sasuke and Naruto could break.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sasuke replied nonchalantly.

Kakashi leaned his head on his palm, continuing to observe his former students.

Naruto gritted his teeth, "Don't give me that bullshit. You're looking all smug here when I know you've done something. Sakura-chan even said you were carrying her… I swear Sasuke if you touched her –"

Kakashi panicked. _Sasuke please don't say -_

"Who cares Naruto? She's not yours," he spat out.

Suddenly, Naruto punched Sasuke's face.

"You asshole" he snarled.

Sasuke retorted by upper cutting Naruto's jaw line. He grabbed Naruto's collar and threw him against the wall. Kakashi leaned back into his chair. _I'll give them a few minutes to sort out their issues. _The two continued to throw punches and kicks at one another. Fortunately, they had mutually agreed to strictly use taijutsu. The two men jumped apart from one another, letting out a deep breath.

Naruto spat out blood and wiped it off his mouth.

"I get it," Naruto said, "why Hinata though?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto and shrugged. Naruto smiled sincerely at his best friend.

"Sasuke…Don't do anything stupid okay?"

"Hn."

Kakashi scratched his cheek as he observed the two men talking in hushed tones. Most of their conversations were exchanged through fighting. It was a peculiar way of communicating but it seemed to work best for them.

It was difficult to hear what they were saying due to their whispering but Kakashi managed to hear a few words. He put the pieces together himself – Naruto was aware of Sasuke's interest in Hinata.

_Ah, this sparks more trouble… and since Naruto mentioned that Sakura saw Sasuke carrying Hinata. Team 7 is going to be edgy for a while. _

Kakashi groaned inwardly. The relationships and dynamic between Team 7 were already chaotic enough. Adding Hinata into the mix, made a love triangle or even a love square if one was to consider Sakura as well. _What to do? Should I –_

"Ah gomen about the mess Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said

Kakashi looked back up at Sasuke and Naruto. Naruto threw his arm over Sasuke's shoulder and laughed.

"Hn."

Kakashi smiled. It seemed that the two had reached some sort of agreement.

"Well since the both of you are done talking," Kakashi stood up and handed Sasuke his mission paper, "here. Once you meet Hinata-chan go through this together. I expect the mission to be complete by the end of the week."

Xxx

As Naruto and Sasuke left Kakashi's office, Naruto thought that his life was only going to get more complicated from here on out. Here peered at his best friend, watching him read his mission with a scowl.

It was weird. Naruto thought one should feel betrayed when they find out their best friend starts to develop feelings for their ex. He didn't though.  
Naruto had begun to realise it a few days after the Hinami festival. After Naruto had told his team about what happened between Hinata and himself, Sasuke had become distant. It was as if he was closing himself off again. A few days of Naruto consistently irritating Sasuke, had caused his friend to blow up at him. In turn, they fought until their bodies collapsed from exhaustion. It was at that moment, Naruto realised that Sasuke was fighting a battle with himself internally. A battle between loyalty and desire. Something Sasuke had fought as a teenager. His desire to kill Itachi had overcome his loyalty to Konoha. Naruto wondered if desire would win again. At first Naruto was unsure of what Sasuke desired. However, a few subtle hints of body language at the mention of Hinata paired with Sasuke constantly avoiding her for four months straight allowed Naruto to figure it out. Sasuke desired Hinata. Yet, his loyalty to Naruto was stopping him.  
He wasn't sure how to explain it but he felt a little excited. He wondered what Sasuke looked like when he was in love. He wanted his best friend, whom was practically a brother, to be able to love again. He wanted that whole heartedly more than anything else. He wanted Sasuke to finally find his place. Perhaps, his place was with Hinata. It made him sad, that was a given. He would always love Hinata. Yet, he was also curious to see how Hinata would respond. Would she love Sasuke the way she loved him? It was all a mystery to him. He wanted the two of them to find happiness. They deserved that.

Suddenly he smacked Sasuke on the back, "Sasuke, don't be so half-hearted about it. I'll gladly pulverise you if you are."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto. It didn't take Sasuke long to read between the lines of what Naruto was really insinuating.

"There's no need for that," he replied.

"Huh? So you really do like –"

"No. I told you. It's nothing."

Naruto chuckled and placed his hands behind his head.

"Eh. Hinata's pretty cute, you'd have to be batting for the other team to not…Wait…is that why you rejected Sakura-chan because you're – "

Sasuke clicked his tongue and grabbed Naruto's ear, pinching him until Naruto began wincing.

"Shut up usuratonkachi," Sasuke said.

Naruto laughed, "Heh. Don't worry teme, I won't tell anyone about your little secret."

Naruto flinched as he felt Sasuke's grip on his ear tighten.

Xxx

Hinata stared off into the distance as she made her way to the Hokage tower. She walked with slumped shoulders and looked at the ground rather than the people she passed by.  
Last night when she had returned home, she was immediately summoned by the Hyuga elders. The Hyuga elders had heard about her childish quarrel with Sasuke and were very disappointed about it. They had called her irresponsible, that her father was crazy to pick her to succeed the title, that despite Hanabi being the hot head, she would have had more self-control than Hinata. After all, Hanabi was **_always _**better in their eyes. Hinata was never envious of her little sister, she was proud of her. Although, sometimes the words got to her too much and she would start believing them. Last night when she felt tears prickling her eyes and her body beginning to tremble, she had to remind herself that she was **_not _**that little girl anymore. She was strong. She was important and despite what the elders were reprimanding for her, she was the Head of the Hyuga. She should not have to be scolded for her own actions. Unfortunately, speaking up for herself had gotten her into trouble. Her grandfather had retaliated by slapping her across the face. Hinata recalled that the moment her grandfather had done that she had avoided the gazes of the council for the rest of the night. They sniggered at her once Hinata had lost all her confidence. Afterwards, her grandfather had told her that they never believed Hinata would be a worthy Head. For the time being, she was a substitute until Hanabi became of age. Hinata had nodded silently, obeying their every word like the puppet she was.

Hinata touched her cheek where her grandfather had slapped her. She flinched at the touch, _it's starting to bruise. _Fortunately, the elders had told the maids to cover up her bruise when she was out in public. However, in the Hyuga compound she was forbidden to cover it up. They had said it was a reminder to all Hyuga's that reckless and childish behaviour was not tolerated in the Hyuga clan no matter what position the person held. When Hinata had told Hanabi what had happened over breakfast, Hanabi had broken her chopsticks in to pieces. Hanabi had reminded Hinata that she was the one to get rid of the branch seal. Despite the elders not favouring it, the rest of the clan did favour it. _Onee-san, they're all stingy and senile. Don't listen to them, everyone believes you're a worthy Head. _Those words Hanabi had told her were comforting. She smiled, she really did love Hanabi.

"You're late," a voice called out.

Hinata looked up to see Sasuke leaning against the building. His eyes were closed and his arms were crossed. Hinata thought that since the last time they saw one another his life had also taken a troublesome turn of events. There was a small part of her that wanted to blame Sasuke but she knew that was an immature notion. After all, she was at fault as well. The two both shared the blame.

"Gomen, Uchiha-san. Someone did not inform me that we were meeting today."

She plastered on a smile, knowing full well that Sasuke had purposefully avoided telling her. Thankfully, Kakashi had sent a message to the compound reminding Hinata to come to the Hokage building for her punishment.

Sasuke clicked his tongue, "That's your fault for not listening last night."

Hinata narrowed her eyes at him, "Someone decided to place me in a genjutsu."

Sasuke smirked as he threw a scroll towards Hinata.

"Start training then to avoid getting caught in a genjutsu."

Hinata caught the scroll, opened it and scanned through their mission details. She plastered another smile as she threw the scroll back at him.

"Start learning some manners then," she said.

Hinata walked past Sasuke as she entered the Hokage building. Sasuke had followed behind her silently. With Hinata leading, the two climbed two flights of stairs before opening one of the doors leading to the second floor. Hinata greeted the staff as she walked past and rolled her eyes at the women ogling at Sasuke. She turned around to look at Sasuke, who walked with his hands in his pockets, unfazed by the all the staring. He caught her eye and smirked at her. Hinata blushed and turned to face forward again. Finally they made it to the room they were assigned to. Hinata turned the knob of the door and was greeted with darkness. Sasuke came beside her and flicked on the light switch. The room was filled with various books and dust.

Sasuke bumped past her and picked up a book. She watched him as he flipped through a book which was practically falling apart.

"Some of the pages are missing," Sasuke commented.

"It seems that some of the pages are damaged as well," she added.

Sasuke closed the book and placed it back on its pile. He pressed his finger onto the table and glided it across. He grimaced as he looked at his finger. Hinata had to hold in a giggle as she watched Sasuke be annoyed at how filthy the place was. Hinata could agree with him though. It was awfully dirty.

"Uchiha-san, should we clean the place first?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, it'll make it easier for us when we have to re-organise these books and rewrite them."

Hinata nodded and then a sudden realisation hit her. The mission scroll had only instructed Sasuke to rewrite all the damaged books simply because he could use his sharigan to copy the words from one book to a fresh new page. Hinata smiled mischievously.

"Don't you mean when **_I _**have to re-write them," she teased.

Sasuke's eye twitched, "Shut up Hyuga. Let's just get this done and over with."

Xxx

A few hours had passed by the time both Sasuke and Hinata had finished cleaning the place. At the moment, Sasuke had started rewriting one of the books and Hinata was going through the books placing them into two separate piles – books that needed to be rewritten and books that did not. Surprisingly, the two had been able to come up with a system easily. It helped that Hinata was used to re-organising books. She had also done this previously in the Hyuga library when she first became Head. Except, this time the scribe was much faster at writing. Whilst Hinata waited for Sasuke to copy the books, she began making labels for the bookshelves. They had both agreed to organise the bookshelves based on the topic or area the book covered and of course, in alphabetical order. Hinata took a quick glance at Sasuke, admiring how interesting Sasuke's mangekyo sharigan was. It was a lovely crimson colour. The outer lines of his tomoe had reminded Hinata of an atom. Hinata viewed it as harsh reminder that his existence had been dictated by matters of the past and the world of adults. Hinata felt sorry for Sasuke, he had been manipulated for most of his life. He probably didn't want anyone's sympathy though, so Hinata had never said anything.

"Are you done staring Hyuga?" He asked without looking away from his page.

Hinata jumped and turned her body to around to avoid seeing him in her peripheral vision. She could feel a blush adorning her cheeks. _Why does he always make me blush?_

After a few seconds, she turned back around to face him. She had desperately hoped that the blush had faded but she realised it didn't matter at all. Sasuke had never taken his eyes off of the page. She continued to make the labels for the bookshelves, sneaking glances at Sasuke here and there. After a while she began to notice he was frowning more than he usually did.

"Uchiha-san, your hand… is it cramping?" She asked politely.

Once again he replied without looking at her and never taking his hand off of the page.

"What do you think Hyuga?" He replied, with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

Hinata stood up, pushed her chair in and left the room. She returned momentarily with an ice pack and a cloth. She offered them both to Sasuke.

"Here, when you want to take a break."

Sasuke stopped writing and took the ice pack and cloth, placing it over his hand. He let out a sigh.

"You have lovely calligraphy, Uchiha-san."

He gestured towards her, "So do you."

Hinata sat down back in her chair, "Arigato."

It was like this for the rest of the afternoon, small talk made here and there regarding the books or about Sasuke taking a break for a few minutes. Hinata had never ordered him to do so because she understood he was a prideful man. Instead she suggested it during intervals, especially when his discomfort was obvious to the eye.  
By the time the sun had begun to set, Sasuke was already halfway through the second book. Sasuke paused and gazed out the window. Hinata had done the same. The two watched the sunset together silently. Once the sun had set, the two got out of the chairs, closed the lights and shut the door behind them. They walked through the building, with Sasuke a few steps ahead of her. The particular floor was silent, it had seemed everyone had already left the offices. Anyone could assume they were walking together home but the two of them had just seen it as coincidental they lived in the same direction. Hinata had convinced herself that was the only reason. It wasn't like Sasuke was actually walking her home. Once they had arrived in front of the gates of the Hyuga compound, Sasuke did not turn around to say goodbye to her. He continued walking. Hinata did not bother to say goodbye as well. After all, they were not friends. They were simply strangers. This thought for some strange reason had saddened Hinata a little. She did not want to be strangers with Sasuke. After spending the day with him Hinata realised she wanted to know more about him. She shut down that thought the moment it surfaced though. It was impossible. Sasuke had already declared to her that she meant nothing to him. Today and the rest of the time they spend together would all just simply be an act. To Sasuke, he was simply fulfilling his duty.

_We're strangers after all. _

_xxxx_

**Thanks for reading, please review. **

**Next chapter will probably be released in two weeks time due to my studies. Sorry. **


	12. Chapter 12

**I'M SO SO INCREDIBLY SORRY THAT THIS CHAPTER IS SO LATE. **

**I know I said 2 weeks but it dragged onto a month, ah I'm so sorry. A lot of things have happened in my life and there was also school in the middle of it, so I've been very occupied at the moment. **

**I've missed writing so much that it feels so good to finally get back into it. I can't wait for the plot to unravel more, it feels weird since I already have half of the last chapter of this story already written (I just have to get there now hah). **

**Thank you all so so so much for being incredibly patient. Thanks for all the follows, favourites and all the reviews. I am so grateful to everyone reading this story. Please enjoy this next chapter. It's not that eventful but it's all mainly just Sasuke and Hinata. **

**Chapter 12:**

Hinata gripped her jacket tighter to her body as she walked out of the Hyuga compound. Recently, Hinata's schedule had been quite busy, so she made her visits to the graveyard during dawn. It was easier this way, especially with the darkness having the ability to hide the bruise on her face. She flinched as a gust of wind blew past her. The mornings were getting chilly, she noted.  
Hinata walked silently to the cemetery, without anything to offer her loved ones. She decided she would replace their flowers tonight with Hanabi. After all, it had been awhile and she felt terrible about not taking better care of her family's graves. It didn't take her long to arrive at the entrance of the cemetery. She pushed her hair behind her ears as she trotted into the graveyard. She strolled until she finally came to the tombstones she was looking for – _Otousan, Okasan. _Hinata smiled as she bowed towards them. She did the usual, giving them a recount on what was going on in her life and the Hyuga clan. She bowed her head even further as she explained to her parents the reason behind the bruise on her cheek. She felt ashamed of having to face her parents with such a shameful appearance. She could hear her Father's voice in her head. He was scolding her in that serious and intimidating tone of his. She could hear him shouting at her that she was a disappointment to him. _Yes, he thinks I'm unworthy as well. Just like Grandfather. _ She wanted her Okasan to soothe her, to give her words of encouragement. Yet, she did not remember the sound of her Okasan's voice. It had been so many years. Hinata was so young when her Okasan had passed. She closed her eyes trying to remember what her Okasan sounded like. Yet, nothing was coming to memory.

Suddenly a gush of wind came passed. Hinata hugged herself, as she felt her body shake. _I'm so cold. _

"Idiot," a voice said behind her.

In seconds, a black cloak was placed over her and she felt her body begin to warm up. She turned around, mouth agape to find Sasuke Uchiha clothed in nothing but a black t-shirt which hugged his finely tone body perfectly and black shorts as well. Hinata turned her gaze away from his body as she felt the heat rise to her cheeks. Ever since yesterday, Hinata had begun to notice particular things about Sasuke that she would prefer not mention to anyone else.

"Aren't you cold?" She asked.

He scowled as he threw her an incredulous look.

"Not as cold as you," he snapped back at her.

"Oh…arigato."

Hinata shyly looked down at the ground, unsure of what else to say. Sasuke was a mystery to her. She could feel his gaze on her as he towered over her. A minute passed in silence before she decided to take matters into her own hand. She released a breath and prepared to stand up from the ground. Sasuke on the other hand, seemed to have other plans.

"Hinata… who did that to you?" He asked.

Hinata brought a hand over her cheek and pressed lightly on it. She was surprised Sasuke had asked. His tone had given no hints of what he really felt about it but – _he sounds almost worried and a little angry. _

"Oh… I – I ran into a pole," she lied.

She flinched as she heard Sasuke sneer. She looked up at him, unsure of what response she desired from him. He scowled at her as their eyes met.

"You…" he said harshly before trailing off. Sasuke darted his eyes away from her and turned on his heel.

"Get it healed before work. It's annoying," he called out to her.

Hinata frowned as she watched his back begin to disappear into the dusk as he walked out of the cemetery. She wondered if this was how Sakura had always felt. Watching his back, unable to say anything that would make him stay. Hinata's eyes became alarmed as that thought crossed her mind. She shook her head and let out a sigh.

_You're just lonely Hinata. It's nothing else. You don't feel anything towards him. _

xxx

Sasuke's cursed as he slid open the shower curtain. The rush of air added with the cold shower he just had had did not help. He reached over for his towel and wrapped it around his torso. Sasuke walked out of his bathroom into his bedroom and glanced outside his window. _Sunrise. _

Sasuke dried himself as he walked over to his closet. He looked through his closet, slipping on the necessary clothing. He frowned as he couldn't find his cloak. _Where the hell –_

Sasuke grimaced as he remembered just where his precious black cloak went. Somehow, all of his problems managed to come back to Hinata. After returning from the cemetery, Sasuke had collapsed onto his bed hoping to get some sleep. Yet, it seemed his hormones had other ideas. It involved a risqué dream with Hinata that he would never tell a soul. He was sure he was never capable of producing such fantasises. To make matters worse he had gotten a hard-on. Hence, why he had to take a cold shower.  
She was driving him insane – well even more insane than he already was. He was mentally unstable at times due to the trauma he suffered as child and having lewd dreams of the Hyuga Head was not helping. To top it all off, Hinata was Naruto's ex-girlfriend. They had way too much history for anyone to get involved with either one of them. Sasuke massaged his temple, it was too late though. He was involved the moment he kissed her. Which he believed was a horrible mistake. Ever since he had tasted her, he wanted **_more. _**It was then that the dreams and hard-ons had begun.

_Fuck. _He ruffled his hair as he made his way out of the bedroom. He never wanted any of this. Yet at the same time he wanted it. He wanted Hinata like a predator wanted its prey. He wanted to devour her soul and body. Yet, he despised her. Sasuke disliked her to the point that he sometimes wanted to place her in a genjutsu forever. She was annoying. She was idiotic, foolish and confusing. Nonetheless, she was fascinating, alluring and beautiful. He scoffed, he was a walking paradox when it came to Hinata.

It was obvious she still had feelings for Naruto and vice versa. Yet she did not choose to be with him anymore. Sasuke couldn't understand. He didn't want to understand. Sasuke wanted nothing to do with her but she was always in the depth of his mind now. She resided their like a pest. It frustrated him. However, he was even more annoyed at Naruto. The blonde idiot had practically given Sasuke his blessing to be with Hinata. _What the fuck was that?_ _Is he a fucking moron?_

Naruto and Hinata. Hinata. Naruto. It was all so god damn problematic and confusing. Sasuke wanted nothing to do with it. He wanted to be out of the mess he had gotten himself into. However, it was the in the little moments he either spent with Hinata or when he watched her that would change his mind. The fact that she could be so fragile yet strong. Her stubbornness and spirit. Her passion and kindness.  
During the four months they had ignored one another, he had watched her from afar time to time. He had seen her play with children, smiling despite the sorrow of losing a child still hurting her. She was polite to everyone. Sasuke had seen her train until she could no longer stand. She had always pushed herself past her limits. She had always surprised Sasuke. That aspect of her always intrigued Sasuke. He wanted to know more about her. The other sides to her, the things she liked, the things that made her sad and the things that brought her joy.

Sasuke laughed at himself. _I sound so pathetic. It's making me sick. _ Sasuke shook his head, drowned a glass of water quickly and grabbed his katana on his way out.

_Time to train. _

_Xx_

Hinata wiped the sweat off her forehead as she made her way to the floor both her and Sasuke were working on. Despite the early mornings being chilly, the afternoon periods were always scorching. She patted her hair down as she got closer to the room, hoping it looked somewhat under control. She bit her lip as she recalled what Sasuke had said to her this morning. It was all so confusing to Hinata. She did not understand what she was to Sasuke. She sighed as her hand reached for the door knob. It was best to not think about it for now, she thought.

Hinata opened the door to find Sasuke flicking through a book. He closed it once he heard her came in. Hinata shut the door behind her and found Sasuke staring at her intently. She blushed and turned her gaze away from his until she heard Sasuke order her to come over to him. Hinata hesitated and it must have irritated him because he clicked his tongue.

"I don't like to repeat myself Hyuga."

She sighed and walked over to him. That was another vexing thing about Sasuke. The way he jumped from calling her Hyuga or Hinata. It seemed like he had no preference to which he name Sasuke would call her. However, she was beginning to assume that Hyuga was reserved for when he was frustrated.

Hinata came to him and sat in the chair beside him. He turned his body to face hers. He inched closer towards her face, examining her cheek. She hoped he would not notice the make-up covering her cheek. After a few seconds he shifted away from her. Suddenly, Hinata winced. Sasuke had flicked her bruised cheek.

"Hn."

Hinata frowned as she watched Sasuke turn away from her and make his way back to the books. Hinata observed him for a few seconds. His shoulders seemed tense, she noted. His lips were pressed into a thin line.  
She chose to ignore his irritated state. Hinata got out of the seat and made her way to her pile of work.

"Hyuga," he called out.

Hinata looked up at him, raising her eyebrow.

He clenched his jaw as he looked at her cheek. Hinata grimaced as she brought a hand over it, attempting to cover it up even more. She didn't want Sasuke to see her in such a sorry state anymore. It was infuriating and she hated it when people saw her weak side. He flicked his eyes back to hers.

"Don't let those bastards boss you around."

"I don't understand what you mean Uchiha-san," she replied.

Sasuke furrowed his brows.

"**_Hinata,_**" he growled as he clenched his fists, "**_you're_** the Head of Hyuga clan. Don't let them treat you like a puppet."

Hinata lowered her head, ashamed to look at Sasuke. He could read her so easily. It was pitiful. Sasuke made it seem so easy. He was strong though. People weren't going to boss him around with his god-like powers. Herself, on the other hand…

"I'm not that –"

"Don't give me that bullshit Hinata," he snarled.

Hinata was taken aback by the ferocity of his words. No one had ever spoken to her in such a manner. She could feel his annoyance at her radiating off his body.

She looked back up at him to find him massaging his head.

"I know you hate being interrupted but I'm just tired of people manipulating others," he said quietly.

In that moment, Hinata felt tears begin to well up in her eyes. She released a breath and stood up from her chair making her way to the bookshelves. She would not let him see her cry again. She stopped momentarily and spoke out.

"Uchiha-san… I- I really appreciate it."

"Hn."

She didn't need to turn around to know that Sasuke was somewhat smiling. Little by little she was beginning to understand the type of person he was. Little by little Hinata found herself even more fascinated by him. Hinata desired that strength Sasuke had.

_If only one day, I could be as strong as him. _

Xxx

Sasuke massaged his hand as he finally finished the fifth book he was writing. He glanced over at Hinata who was placing books back onto their shelves. He turned his head back to the book. Sasuke closed it and added it to the pile of finished books. He reached over for his bottle of water and took a sip, quenching his thirst. He sighed as he thought about Hinata's bruise. It was obvious the Hyuga elders had inflicted it upon her. Sasuke could easily bet it had something to do with him. He gritted his teeth, feeling like an ass. Also, he was sure he told her to go heal it. _What's up with that? Why won't she heal it? _

He turned back to face her only to find her in a pickle. Hinata was jumping trying to reach the top of the bookshelf to place a book on it. Unfortunately, she was too short. He watched her for a few more seconds as she struggled. Sasuke rolled his eyes as he stood up and made his way to her. He was too fast for her to notice but by the time he had stood closely behind her she had jumped at the realisation. He placed one hand on her hips and the other he overlapped her hand holding the book. He took the book out of her hand and placed it on the shelf.

"Just ask for help next time. Watching you jump was annoying," he said.

He waited for her to retort with something but it seemed Hinata was at a loss of words. He looked at her rear for a few seconds, _nice. _He looked back up at her hoping she had something to say. Her ears had gone red most likely from the close contact. One would think she was pure. Sasuke smirked, wanting to tease her just a little more. His hand lingered on her hips as his fingers drew circles into her hips. He wanted to slip his hands underneath her shirt and feel her delicate skin. But he knew by then he wouldn't be able to stop. She was intoxicating. Even now it was difficult to stop. Hinata was so enticing. He took his hands off of her and stepped back from her. She turned to face him and Sasuke couldn't help but smirk. _She's as red as a tomato. _

"I'm hungry Hinata," he said casually.

Hinata's eyes became wide and her face maintained the blush.

"I – I thought. You said that we –"

He placed his hands in his pockets and smirked.

"Who would have thought you had such a dirty mind?"

He turned away from her, calling out to her that he was going to get something to eat. He opened the door and waited for her to follow. He turned to face her as she continued to look shocked and embarrassed. Sasuke found it quite amusing.

"Hurry up Hyuga," he ordered.

"I'm really not that hun –"

Suddenly Hinata's stomach growled and her face had become even redder.

"Let's go then," she mumbled as she walked past him.

Xxxx

Hinata fiddled with the hem of her top as she sat across from Sasuke. She had followed Sasuke into a restaurant which he described as fulfilling and nice. Hinata peered around the restaurant and bit her lip as she observed numerous girls glaring at Sasuke fondly. She turned her focus back to him, watching him scan through the menu. Sasuke was either oblivious to all the staring or by now he was used to it. Hinata looked back down at her menu, trying to find something to eat. However, the whispers of the other girls in the restaurant were quite distracting.

"Isn't that Sasuke-kun? He's so hot!"

"Who's that plain girl with him?"

"That's the Head of the Hyuga!"

"Eh? Wasn't she dating Naruto-kun?"

"Don't tell me she's with both, that's unfair."

"Two of the hottest guys at once? What a –"

Suddenly, Hinata felt water splash onto her face.

She blinked and stared at Sasuke, who had placed his now empty glass on the table.

"What do you want to order?" He asked.

Hinata narrowed her eyes at him. She gritted her teeth, trying so hard to not lose her temper at him. Hinata reached over for some napkins and wiped her face.

"Was that really necessary, Uchiha-san?"

"Probably not," he replied as he closed his menu.

"I see…"

Sasuke called over the waitress to take their orders without getting a reply from Hinata. She sighed, he truly was annoying and ill-mannered sometimes. The waitressed flashed a smile, flicked her hair and fluttered her eyes at Sasuke.

"Today's onigiri special," he said without ever looking at her.

"Anything else?" She asked.

"No."

The girl laughed awkwardly and turned her head to face Hinata. She plastered on a smile.

"And for you?"

"I'll have the takoyaki."

The waitress nodded and as customary told them their orders would be with them momentarily. She left the two to be alone. Sasuke reached over for the jug of water, refilling his glass.

"I'll pay in order to compensate for that tomato you left," he said.

"It's fine. This is a bit too much compared to one tomato."

He scoffed, "It was a pretty good damn tomato."

Hinata smiled, she liked this childish aspect of Sasuke. However, she would not accept him paying for her meal.

"I'm glad but I won't let you pay. It's too much."

"Are you saying I'm poor?"

"No! That's not what I mean. Look it's just a tomato."

"And this is just a meal."

"Uchiha-san…"

Sasuke leaned his head on his hand and stared at Hinata. She bit her lip as she found him staring at her too intently.

"I hate that," he commented.

"Nani?"

"Nothing," he shifted his eyes away from her and then looked back at her, "look you told me to get some manners and here I am being polite, offering a woman a meal. So accept it."

"Yes because throwing water at someone is polite," Hinata said sarcastically.

"Hn."

As their meals came, the two stopped talking. The waitress placed their respective dishes in front of them. She gawked at Sasuke, waiting for him to thank her. Instead, Hinata thanked her on their behalf. The waitress pouted as she walked away without getting anything from Sasuke.

"I just don't want to be in your debt," Hinata said as she reached over for some chopsticks.

"I agree," Sasuke replied.

"Then we'll split the bill."

"I'm still in debt to you," he said.

Hinata frowned. Suddenly, an idea came to her mind. She smiled, this simple idea would surely fix everything.

_There really is no other way._

_xxx_

**Thanks for reading, please review! **


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

**Thank you all for the follows and favourites and a special thanks to all those who reviewed! I wish I could reply to all of your reviews but I'm always so busy but please be assured, I read every single one of them and I am so grateful to all of your feedback. **

**This was a crazy chapter to write. You'll see what I mean, it's going to feel like Sasuke and Hinata's relationship takes one step forward and then two steps back. Also, I loved writing the part with team 7. **

**Anyway, enjoy the chapter. **

Hinata grinned as she placed her chopsticks down on her plate. She swallowed her food and then proceeded to share her idea.

"Uchiha-san, I have an – "

Hinata stopped and suddenly started giggling. Sasuke looked up at her with confusion.

"What?" He muttered as he swallowed some rice.

Hinata shook her head and pointed towards his mouth.

"You have some rice on you," she said.

"How funny," Sasuke said sarcastically.

Hinata watched as Sasuke brought his fingers over his mouth trying to get the piece of rice off of him.

"Is it gone?" He asked.

Hinata smiled, "Move your fingers to the centre of your mouth – Ah stop. Now, move your hands here," she gestured, "it's just above your upper lip. No! Not there, over here."

Hinata leaned across the table and unconsciously her fingers came closer to Sasuke's face. She stopped midway when she realised what she was going to do. Hinata pulled her hand away quickly. She averted her eyes away from him and grabbed the closest thing that could show his reflection. Hinata ended up using one of her kunai's.

"Ah, here," she said handing him the kunai, "can you see?"

"Aa," Sasuke said as he passed the kunai back to Hinata.

Using his thumb, Sasuke wiped the rice off his face. He then stared at Hinata as he placed his thumb at the base of his lips, proceeding to suck the rice off it.

Hinata blushed, tearing away her eyes from him.

"As I was saying, I think – I think you can just repay me by giving me back a tomato?"

"An equivalent exchange?"

Hinata flicked her eyes back to Sasuke, the fact that he had never taken his eyes off of her had caused Hinata to feel strange. Her stomach felt weird. She wasn't sure if it was because of the food or because Sasuke had truly made her feel nervous.

"Yes," she replied quietly as she attempted to recollect herself, "that way neither of us we'll be in debt to one another."

Sasuke stared at her in an analysing way. Hinata wondered if Sasuke was so used to analysing everything. He stared at her in way that made Hinata feel like a puzzle. It was as if he was pondering if she had any ulterior motives. She could tell it in the way he furrowed his brows. Despite Hinata being treated like a mystery, it was Sasuke whom was the real mystery.

"Hn."

Sasuke flicked his eyes back to his onigiri and continued to eat. Hinata smiled, happy that he had accepted her idea. Perhaps, Sasuke was not so hard to understand, she thought.

Xxx

After their meal, the two had returned to working. It was quiet and serene as they worked. The two shinobi preferred it this way. Hinata smiled cheerfully as she placed some books on the bookshelf. Hinata was recalling on their way back when Sasuke had questioned why she had a kunai when she was no longer considered an 'on duty' shinobi. Hinata had replied that regardless of her status, she was a shinobi and threats could appear anywhere. She remembered looking at Sasuke waiting for a witty retort by him but instead she had seen something even more surprising. Sasuke had smirked at her. Not in his usual arrogant manner but it was something else. Something Hinata couldn't exactly place her finger on. _He looked… proud and somewhat happy? But I might be reading too much into it. _

Hinata sighed. She promised herself she wouldn't think about it anymore. It was most likely nothing. _Probably just my imagination…_

"Hinata," Sasuke called out to her in a panicked tone.

She raised her eyebrows in confusion as she began to walk towards Sasuke.

"What's wrong?" She asked as she got closer to him.

He clenched his jaw and pushed the book he was reading towards her.

"Read this," he said pointing at the page.

Hinata titled her head down and began to read. The words had quickly processed through her mind the second she read them. Hinata gulped. She read the words again, wondering if perhaps she had misread it.

_It can't be…_

Hinata blinked in confusion and shock. Her mouth was agape. _When –_

Suddenly the door opened and Kakashi's head popped out.

"Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that you can finish early today since it's Sasuke's birthday today," Kakashi said with a crinkled eye, "Sakura's been busy preparing for tonight, so don't be late Sasuke."

Sasuke sighed, "Hn."

"Well, that's all I came to say. Ja ne, Hinata-chan, Sasuke."

Hinata waved Kakashi goodbye. She blinked. Licked her lips and faced Sasuke. Her mind was still in a state of shock and by looking at Sasuke it seemed so was he.

"Uchiha-san, I –"she stopped when Sasuke immediately turned his head to face hers. Their eyes locked and slowly Hinata felt herself getting pulled in by his onyx eyes. She opened her mouth to continue but couldn't find the words to do so. _What does one say after finding __**that **__out? Especially after all these years. _

Hinata watched Sasuke, trying to figure out what he was thinking. Sasuke though, was like obsidian. He was a dark person and mostly mysterious. It was difficult to read him. Most of the time she had trouble understanding him. However, it was in moments like these were his feelings and thoughts were accessible to the eye. He was as transparent as glass.

_Sasuke's just as surprised and confused as I._

Hinata let out a breath and closed her eyes.

"I didn't know it was your birthday," she whispered, changing the subject.

"Aa."

"Happy birthday," she said quietly.

Hinata bowed and then turned to leave. However, the door wouldn't budge. She bit her lip as she saw Sasuke's hand firmly hold the door shut. He towered over her, causing her to feel inferior. Hinata didn't want to face Sasuke. Not right now. After finding out **_that _**she had no idea what one should say.

"Breathe," he whispered.

Hinata breathed, oblivious to the fact that she almost had an anxiety attack. Her body felt flushed, and slowly her breathing had begun to return back to normal.

"Breathe," Sasuke repeated, "go home Hinata and don't think about this.

She shut her eyes tight, she wanted to so desperately to do that. To run away from this problem. Yet, where had that gotten her in the past? Running away had caused a mess. A mess she was not proud of.

"I can't do that," she replied.

"Hinata, we'll figure it –"

"I'm not **_yours _**Sasuke!" She yelled as she turned to face him.

She regretted raising her voice at him. All she wanted to say was that she didn't want him to boss her around. After all, he had said to not let people order her around. But now, it was different. She realised it after she had yelled at him. He wasn't simply ordering her. Sasuke was trying to help her. And Hinata had declined his help. She hated it – that look of hurt on his face which quickly diminished in seconds. Sasuke was no longer transparent to her.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her as he looked down at her from his nose. His infamous scowl lurked on his face. His voice no longer sounded worried. Rather, it sounded hostile.

"Move Hyuga, you're blocking the exit."

Hinata lowered her head and stood aside for Sasuke to pass. He pushed past her without a care. Hinata reached out for his arm, holding onto it before he could leave.

"I'm going to talk to the elders," she explained.

It felt like hours before Sasuke had finally replied. The silence in the building had irked Hinata. She had felt nervous. She was scared. As time began to pass, she could feel herself begin to tremble.

"Do what you want," he whispered.

Slowly, Hinata let Sasuke's arm out of her grasp. Once his arm was free, Sasuke continued to walk away from her. Hinata closed her eyes. Unsure of what would become of Sasuke and her.

Xxx

Despite the headache he felt coming on, Sasuke continued to drown the alcohol down his throat. It burned his insides. The liquor tasted horrible. Sasuke had felt somewhat horrible. He rubbed his eyes as he felt them becoming drowsy. Beside him sat Naruto, chatting idly away to him. Sasuke had gotten lost halfway through the conversation. _Something about ramen? Or was it cake? _He couldn't remember and didn't want to. He hated sweets and detested ramen. The latter was an exaggeration though. Rather he tolerated ramen. After the many times he had gone for ramen with Naruto it was impossible to not get sick of it. He furrowed his brows at Naruto – the guy was an oddball.

"Ne, Sakura-chan, how's the hospital going?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke praised inwardly that the conversation was finally changing. He directed his attention to Sakura, who sat across from them. Beside her, was Kakashi looking as relaxed as ever. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Team 7 hardly got together like this. It was a rarity they were blessed with. Sasuke would never admit it out loud but he enjoyed it. He enjoyed spending time with his family. _Even though they do get on my nerves most of the time…_

"Very busy," she said as she sipped on her sake, "Tsunade-sama delegates most of the work to me now, so I'm always running around the hospital."

"Tch, isn't she still too young to be retiring," Sasuke said.

"Eh? Ba-chan's pretty old teme!" Naruto exclaimed.

Kakashi laughed, "Don't let her hear you say that Naruto. She'll pulverise you."

Naruto grimaced and Sakura laughed, nodding her head in agreement.

"Tsunade-sama still takes up many jobs but just not as much anymore... she may look young Sasuke-kun but she is getting old," Sakura said. The last part she had said quietly as if in fear that her mentor would hear her discussing her age.

Naruto reached over for the bottle of sake, and refilled his glass. "Just don't overwork yourself Sakura-chan," he said.

Sakura smiled and then clapped her hands together.

"Yosh, does anyone want any more food?" She questioned as she began to stand up.

"I'm good thanks," Kakashi replied.

"You didn't even eat Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto shouted as he pointed a finger at him in annoyance.

"Oh? I got hungry at work so I ate before I came."

Naruto opened his mouth to protest but Sakura cut him off, scolding him for his lack of manners. Naruto had retorted saying that it was Kakashi-sensei who was rude for not eating her food. Sasuke sighed as he massaged his temples. _So damn frustrating. _

"Shut up," Sasuke finally said as he reached out for the bottle of sake.

The two complied and zipped their lips. Sakura began to clear the table with the help of Naruto. Now, it was just Kakashi and Sasuke. Sasuke eyed Kakashi with a scowl. The old bastard refused to show his face. His face was a mystery. He would be lying if he said he didn't want to know what Kakashi really looked like.

"Is something wrong, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

He clenched his jaw and muttered, "No."

He watched as Kakashi flicked his eyes towards the kitchen. Sakura and Naruto were still quite occupied cleaning up the mess. He turned his focus back to Sasuke.

"Earlier today when I visited, you seemed quite tense – when you were with Hinata-chan," he added quickly.

Sasuke scowled. Kakashi was always so perceptive. It was frustrating.

"She's annoying," he said.

Kakashi smiled, "I thought you two were getting along quite nicely when you went out to eat."

_He's been watching us… _

"She's tolerable," he added.

"You seem even more annoyed than usual tonight."

"Shut up."

He gritted his teeth as he watched his old sensei smile. Sasuke was positive that Kakashi was having twisted assumptions. _He probably thinks I tried to make a move. _Sasuke gritted his teeth. Fortunately, before hell could break loose, both Sakura and Naruto had returned. The two had said nothing about the tense situation. Either they were oblivious or were ignoring it. Sasuke presumed it was the latter. It seemed his teammates had a fear of prying into what was irritating Sasuke. One wrong question and their night together could end in seconds.

Sakura had smiled excitedly as she placed Sasuke's birthday cake on the table.

Before he could protest about his hatred of sweets, Sakura had opened her mouth.

"Wait! It's not just any type of cake Sasuke-kun," she grinned as if proud of herself, "it's a tomato based soup cake!"

He raised his eyebrow at her, _was that even possible?_

"It's true Sasuke! It tastes good as well," Naruto said as he patted Sasuke's back.

_Fuck it, I'll eat it. She had me at tomato. _

Xx

It didn't take long for Team 7 to finish the cake. Surprisingly, Sasuke could admit that it was actually quite nice.

"So did you like it?" Sakura asked.

"Hn," he said as he finished the last drop of sake in his glass.

Sakura smiled, "I'm glad."

Again, Naruto had gotten up and helped her clear the table. He observed them. There was a feeling of familiarity more so than the two usually gave off. Sasuke had never been inside Sakura's house before. But as he watched Naruto saunter around, giving a helping hand he wondered just how many times the blonde idiot had been in here. His mind wasn't particular sober, so he chose to stop entertaining his peculiar thoughts. Before he knew it, Naruto came rushing back with presents.

"Open it! Open it!" He shouted, handing Sasuke his presents.

He sighed, giving into his best friend's excitement. _It might as well be Naruto's birthday. He's more excited than I am._

Sasuke unwrapped Naruto's present first. The shape of it was strange. To say he was a little worried at what Naruto had gotten him was an understatement. Moreover, the idiot had done so many layers of wrapping. His eyes twitched as it felt like the wrapping went forever. _No wonder why the present was shaped so weirdly. _

"Last layer teme!" Naruto said as he rubbed his palms together.

Sasuke shook his head and proceeded to unwrap the last layer. He froze, as his fingers touched the hilt of the sword. During the battle with Kaguya, his Sword of Kusanagi had fallen into the lava and thus, destroyed. The chokuto Naruto had gotten him was so similar to his Sword of Kusanagi. It similarly, had a black scabbard and matching hilt. Its size was also quite large compared to normal chokutos.

"Naruto… you –"

"Yeah," he replied, smiling sincerely.

Sasuke placed his sword beside him, and grabbed the next present. He unwrapped it – thankful for the one layer – and grimaced at the present. Kakashi had gotten him books, which was thoughtful, Sasuke did enjoy reading books. However, the first book in the pile was one of the notorious books from the 'Icha Icha' series.

"Quite resourceful," Kakashi commented.

He frowned, ignoring the book and peered at the others. They were all books on jutsus, techniques and fighting styles. _I'll read these later. _

"Hn."

"So Sakura-chan what did you get Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

He directed his attention to Sakura. He wasn't sure what exactly he expected from Sakura.

"Well… it's sort of a present for the both of you. Ah, let me explain," she said as she noticed the confusion in their faces, "As children, you both suffered so much trauma from all the wrongdoings of the shinobi system. I hated it. Seeing you both in pain once we became a family. I wanted to be strong to help you both. But we're older now, and you two can easily take care of yourselves. It was a difficult and tedious journey to get here but Sasuke-kun and Naruto, you guys made it. So, I wanted to ensure no child has to suffer through the trauma alone again. To do this, I proposed to the hospital a new facility which treats children suffering from trauma. Especially, after the effects of the last war and the many losses we experienced…"

"Sakura… That's – Thank you," he said genuinely.

Sakura was taken aback, her eyes wide from his sudden appreciation.

"You're amazing Sakura-chan," Naruto said as he smiled.

"Thanks guys – Ah, I know it's not really a present but I thought –"

Sasuke cut her off, "It's great Sakura, really."

"I got the approval today, so the facility should be opening soon."

"Yosh!" Cheered Naruto.

Sasuke sat back and smiled. For now, he would enjoy this happiness with his family. Later at night he would let his mind wander towards his thoughts and feelings regarding Hinata.

"You've all grown so much," Kakashi said out of the blue.

All three members of Team 7 stared at their sensei weirdly. Sakura then laughed, followed by Naruto and Kakashi and even Sasuke let out a little laugh. He was unsure if it was alcohol or if it was because he was truly happy in this moment. Regardless, he planned on ensuring that he would not hurt his family again. Even if it meant ignoring his own desires.

Xxx

Hinata pushed open the gates into the Hyuga compound, greeting the guards as she came through. It was already late by the time she had returned home. As she came up the steps, she saw the lights of the dining hall lit. She watched the shadows of the maids, cleaning up the table and what not. It seemed everyone had eaten except herself. She ignored the gnawing feeling in her stomach. In her current state of mind, Hinata was unsure if she could handle any food in her body. She feared she would throw up. Hinata was just too flustered to stomach anything.

After Sasuke had left, she had ended up staying in the Hokage building longer than she planned. She had finished off her work, cleaned up her area and Sasuke's. She then re-read the page a few times. She had sat there contemplating for a while. Unsure of how to approach the elders about it. After a while she stopped thinking about it. Hinata decided there was no use of running around in circles trying to come up with the best way to approach the elders about it. There was only one way – to ask them straight up.

Hinata took off her shoes and entered the compound. She made her way through, turning into one of the corridors only to bump into Hanabi.

"Onee-san!" Her little sister exclaimed.

"Oh, hello Hanabi-chan," she greeted.

"Are you okay? You look a little pale… Have you had anything to eat yet?"

Hinata smiled, "I'm fine. Just a little tired."

Hanabi glared at her, knowingly that her sister was lying. However, Hanabi was never one to pry. She had always respected Hinata's privacy.

"Okay… If you need anything just ask Onee-san."

Hinata nodded and ruffled Hanabi's hair, "Thanks."

The two said their goodbyes and Hinata carried on, walking down the corridor. Despite living here her whole life, Hinata always had to count the doors when trying to find her grandfather's quarters. The Hyuga estate was huge. Moreover, the compound for the family of the main branch was quite large. The layout was somewhat confusing for newcomers, it was almost like a maze. _Ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen – ah here it is. _Hinata stopped at the fourteenth sliding door she counted. She called out for her grandfather, waiting for a response.

"Come in," a stern voice replied.

Hinata slid the door open, bowed and sat before her grandfather.

"Hinata-sama, can I help you with anything?" He asked.

Hinata took a deep breath in and then out. She locked her eyes with her grandfather and lifted her chin up high.

"You're going to tell me everything you know about the marriage contract between Uchiha Sasuke and me."

xxx

**Ah, please don't freak out anyone! I know marriage contracts are a big cliche in the Sasuhina fandom but trust me its not going to go in the way you think it will! **

**Once again, I'm going to be very busy in these upcoming weeks, so I decided to post this chapter earlier rather than wait til later. **

**Please review !**


	14. Chapter 14

**Wowee it has been so so long since I last updated, apologies! So much things have been going on in my life, it has been difficult to manage it all. However, I have always had this story on my mind and I am so thankful for all the reviews, favourites and follows and to everyone reading this story. I could never have come this far without your constant support. **

**Please enjoy this chapter – I wished it could have been longer but I've just been so busy and exhausted. I have the whole story planned out though, so do not fear!**

** Chapter 14:**

Hinata kept her eyes locked with her grandfather. Ensuring that she showed no signs of inferiority towards him. She could not risk it right now. Especially since she had ordered him in such a demanding tone. She released a breath as she watched her grandfather raise an eyebrow. It had felt like minutes of agony whilst she waited for his response. Her grandfather reached over for his tea and sipped it whilst looking at Hinata. He wriggled his nose as he scrutinised her. Finally, he placed his cup of tea down and cleared his throat.

"Very well."

Hinata was startled at his response. She had not anticipated he would be straightforward with her. She gulped, hoping to Kami that her grandfather did not notice her anxiety. She clutched the fabric of her pants and nodded at her grandfather.

"Before I begin, I would like to ask how you happened to come across the marriage contract, Hinata-sama."

"During work today, Uchiha-san stumbled across the paper in a book filled with old marriage contracts. He showed it to me."

"I see," he grandfather stood up and walked straight past Hinata. She activated her byakugan and watched her grandfather as he stood behind her. He opened the sliding door and called on one of the servants that always attended him. Hinata watched as he whispered something into the servant's ear and ushered them off. He then closed the door and made his way back to his seat. Once he walked past her, Hinata deactivated her byakugan. He sat in front of her again and smiled at Hinata. It was somewhat tender? Hinata adverted her eyes unsure of how to approach her grandfather being kind to her. It was a rarity that mainly came with a price. All of the elders were like that. Ever since she had become the Head of the clan, Hinata had become more alert and assertive in the ways the elders dealt with issues.

Hinata shifted her weight to the right, beginning to feel her feet cramping as she sat in seiza. Despite always sitting in seiza position during clan meetings and talking to the elders, her body never seemed to adapt to the position.

"Bring the boy here… once the both of you are here, I will explain it all. Does that satisfy you, Hinata-sama?"

She clicked her tongue, annoyed that she would have to talk to Sasuke now of all times. He was not that big of a fan of hers at the moment. _He probably never liked me to begin with anyway. _The other half of her mind reprimanded her though. _He's kissed me, he's been kind to me and he's helped me. Sasuke is…_

"Hai," she replied to her grandfather.

She bowed, stood up and exited the room. She sighed and Hinata was unsure if it was in relief or strife. _Probably both. _

As she made her way out of the main branch building, Hinata pondered again on the idea of what exactly Sasuke was. He was equally rude as he was kind. He was alluring yet terrifying. She ran a hand through her hair, confused even more about her thoughts towards Sasuke.

_I don't dislike him, that's for sure._

_Xxxxx_

Sasuke yawned as he held up Naruto. Naruto was babbling about anything that came to his mind. His arm slouched across Sasuke's shoulders, as Sasuke supported the drunken future Hokage. He gritted his teeth as he felt a gust of wind blow past. He regretted giving Hinata his cloak. He regretted a lot of things when it came to the Hyuga.

"Hey Hina!" Naruto shouted out.

Sasuke was pulled out of his thoughts as his attention returned to Naruto. The blonde was waving his free hand crazily, whilst shouting out the name Hina. He groaned, who on earth was –

_Fuck. It's her._

Sasuke felt the tension in his neck as Naruto finally caught Hinata's attention. Despite being all the way down the road, the Hyuga easily spotted the pair. It helped that she had the byakugan, Sasuke thought. Hinata caught their eyes and smiled timidly. He adverted his eyes from her, clicking his tongue. As the pair got closer to Hinata, Sasuke ensured his eyes never met hers. Sasuke did not trust his intoxicated self with Hinata. His jumbled thoughts and feelings towards her – which he had not figured out – could possibly be revealed to her. He didn't want that.

"Hello Naruto-kun, Uchiha-san," she greeted.

"Hinaaaaa," Naruto slurred out.

Sasuke frowned as he noticed Hinata blush under the attention of Naruto. He wanted to leave Naruto immediately. It had felt like he was intruding between them. However, Naruto was adamant about keeping Sasuke by his side.

"I really miss – "Naruto hiccupped, "I miss you. Do you miss me? Sasuke-teme spends more time with you now. I'm a little jealous Hina."

Sasuke scowled. He preferred sober Naruto over **_this. _**

"Shut up Naruto," he muttered under his breath.

From the corner of his eyes he saw Hinata bite her lip and glance at her feet before quickly looking back up to them.

"Ah – Naruto-kun, I think you should refrain from drinking anymore tonight," she commented.

"Probably," he said with a chuckle, "I mean it though. I miss you… Sorry. I should stop."

Naruto's voice had turned quiet and serious. Hinata's breath hitched at the revelation and Sasuke was agitated. His jaw clenched and he could feel himself getting more and more frustrated. Hinata and Naruto's relationship was over but Sasuke could tell it was far from being over. The feelings one another held still lingered in the air. Sasuke was offended and irritable that Naruto had given him his blessing to pursue a relationship with Hinata. It was ludicrous the whole concept. Even if he did have feelings for Hinata he would never entertain them. He would be loyal to Naruto. Naruto was naïve to pretend things would just work out if Hinata and Sasuke got together. It wasn't as simple as that. Moreover, Hinata had problems of her own. She was strongly guilt-ridden, something Sasuke whole-heartedly understood.

He continued to watch Hinata's expression, speechless at what Naruto had previously said. _Yes, this is why I don't want her. _She was too ambiguous for him. Sometimes he could never tell what Hinata was truly thinking. Her reactions puzzled him. She supposedly claimed to not be able to love Naruto anymore but it was painfully obvious she still loved him. It was exasperating.

"I'll take you home Naruto," he said in the midst of the silence.

Naruto nodded his head tiredly, and said goodbye to Hinata.

"Wait! I'll help –"

"No."

"But –"

"I hate repeating myself Hyuga," Sasuke seethed.

He wanted nothing to do with her. Not right now. He was too intoxicated, too antagonised to deal with her. Yet, she seemed to have other ideas.

"I'm coming Uchiha-san," she said sternly.

"Tch."

He ignored her whilst she followed behind. He wasn't in the mood to see her or communicate with her. The rest of the walk consisted of the nothing but the sound of their footsteps and Naruto's snoring. The blonde idiot had managed to pass out halfway.

"He could never hold his liquor," she commented out of the blue.

He chose to not respond. Hoping she would understand that she was not wanted. Hinata did not get the message though. If she did though, she was persistent in her idea of helping. Once they had arrived at Naruto's flat, Hinata had quickly pulled the mat up to get the spare keys. She unlocked the door, flicked on the light and hurriedly made her way to Naruto's bedroom. Sasuke followed behind her. Once he reached the bedroom, he noticed Hinata had already drawn the bedsheets, allowing Sasuke to dump Naruto's body on the bed whilst Hinata removed his shoes and then placed the blanket back over him. Sasuke stood back and observed Hinata. She smiled sadly as she gazed at Naruto for a few seconds. She then turned on her heel and walked towards the bathroom. She came back with a bucket and placed it beside his bed. Afterwards, Hinata made her way to the curtains, closing them shut. Hinata then proceeded to walk past Sasuke, entering the kitchen and pouring a glass of water. She returned and placed the glass on the bedside table. Hinata released a sigh a pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear.

_So this is what she meant by helping. _

The two left the room silently, closing the door behind them quietly. Hinata fidgeted with her fingers before calling out his name.

"Sas- Uchiha-san."

He peered over his shoulder at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Sasuke," he corrected.

That was another thing that irritated him. Her jump from formalities with him.

She pursed her lips, "Sasuke… I need to talk to you."

"Okay."

He looked back at Naruto's room and then back towards the exit of his flat. He tilted his head towards the exit, signalling Hinata to follow. The two of them quietly made their way out of Naruto's flat. Once outside, he turned to face her.

"I talked to my grandfather… about the marriage contract."

"Aa."

He wriggled his nose as he unintentionally got a whiff of her perfume. _She smells nice. Well, she always does. Her lips taste even better though. _He clenched his jaw. He should never have agreed to talk to her.

"He wants to speak to the both of us right now about it."

"I don't think we should discuss it now," he replied.

Hinata frowned, "I don't want to run away anymore Sasuke."

He clicked his tongue, "I'm a little drunk right now Hyuga and it's late."

"Gomen," she said quietly with her head bowed.

He snapped at her, "What are you sorry for? It's not your fault that I'm drunk."

"You're addressing me as Hyuga. I realised you only do that when you're… annoyed at me."

He massaged his temples. He hadn't realised he would jump from names when it came to Hinata.

"Fuck, this is all so frustrating," he muttered, "fine I'll come with you Hinata."

_Fuck it. _

He couldn't care if he was intoxicated and unable to think straight right now. He hated seeing Hinata look gloomy. He hated also not knowing what the marriage contract was about. Also, Hinata smelt good and the reflection of the moon made her even more enticing than she already was.

_I also want my cloak back. _

Xxx

Sasuke pressed his lips together into a thin line as he observed Hinata from the corner of his eyes. He narrowed his eyes as he watched her rub her arms due to the cold air of the night. As if noticing his scrutiny at her, Hinata peeked over at him. His eyes met hers briefly, before she averted them in embarrassment.

"I'll return your cloak," she quietly said as if being able to read his mind.

He grunted in response and continued to follow her, not trusting his lips to do any talking. It was his mouth that had gotten him into this mess. Sasuke was positive his mouth would **_not _**get him out of it. Right now, he was sure he could trust nothing about himself. He continued to follow Hinata to the Hyuga compound, ensuring he was always a few steps behind her in order to not look at her face. However, that only left him staring at her rear sometimes. He clenched his jaw, _I really need to get a hold of myself._

Before he knew it, the two had passed through the gates into the Hyuga compound. As customary, the Hyuga members on patrol had greeted the Head of the Clan in passing and to his surprise, himself as well. It had felt strange to be addressed as Uchiha-sama. He wondered if Hinata had felt strange about it as well. Yet, the more he thought about it, Hinata grew up in a household where formalities were important. Whereas, Sasuke had always chosen to ignore formalities.  
He followed Hinata into the main branch household, she greeted the maids in passing and vice versa. A few of the maids had jumped in surprise at the sight of Sasuke, only to recollect themselves in seconds to greet him formally. To be honest, he hadn't cared. If it was him, Sasuke would also be surprised at seeing a man – who most likely reeked of alcohol – follow Hinata so obediently into the compound this late at night. He sighed, this information could be highly damaging to his already ruined reputation – not that he cared – but he also worried about Hinata's. It was bad enough she was forced to work with him_. _Hinata certainly did not need people whispering behind her back that she was some sort of promiscuous woman. He had heard people talking about her and her relations with Naruto. She had seemed to be painted as the 'bad guy' in their breakup. In truth though, neither of them were at fault. Their relationship simply did not work out. However, now that both Sasuke and Hinata had been seen together more often, a lot of people had begun to talk. He had heard it in the restaurant they ate together at and at various places around the village. The whole village seemed to have this bizarre thought that a love triangle was happening between Hinata, Sasuke and Naruto – which was completely incorrect.

_Well, that's what I hope._

There was sexual tension and definite lust towards Hinata. Sasuke was definitely aware of that. He had planned to ignore it and not think about it ever again. Yet, it was always so seemingly impossible whenever he came into contact with Hinata. She was just so… _ethereal and entrancing? _He pinched his nose. The alcohol was definitely getting to him.

As he followed Hinata through a corridor, he decided to appreciate the fine art on the walls. The walls were decorated with either elaborate paintings or inspirational wall scrolls. He clicked his tongue, wondering if Hinata's taste in regards to art mimicked these decorated walls. It didn't hurt to think, he noted. _After all, we're supposedly engaged. Might as well know what her tastes are._

She peered over her shoulder and smiled as she looked at him.

"Some of these paintings were created by my Okasan," she said.

"They're nice," he commented.

She flicked her head back to the front and then continued to talk to him.

"Yes, Okasan was also very nice."

"Was?"

Hinata paused, causing Sasuke to halt before he could crash into her.

"Hai… Okasan passed away when I was young," she looked up at Sasuke and smiled sadly.

He was unsure if it was due to sympathy or if remembering her mother made her feel down. It was most likely both. He could understand her feelings. He missed his mother terribly. The nights where he dreamed of her were always the hardest. He missed her warmth and her kind smiles.

Hinata licked her lips and then tilted her head towards the door they stood in front of.

"This is my grandfather's room. He'll be telling us about everything in regards to the marriage agreement made between us."

She turned to slide the door up but Sasuke reached out for her arm, grabbing onto her wrist. She gasped, taken aback by his sudden abruptness. Sasuke frowned, he hadn't planned on doing that. He realised his hold on her was tight and began to loosen his grasp on her.

"Hinata," he whispered, "I – never mind."

He let go of her wrist slowly, choosing to not utter the words his mind had managed to conjure in seconds. His intoxicated self was getting out of hand.

_Hinata, I promise everything's going to be okay._

Hinata bit her lip, a hint of disappointment etching its way onto her face. She turned away from him and returned to sliding the door open. Sasuke gulped as he entered the room. Tonight, his future and Hinata's was on the line. He was determined to at least not screw this up.

Xx

Hinata fiddled with the fabric of her pants as Sasuke and her both entered her grandfather's room and sat before him. To Hinata, it appeared he had not moved whilst she was gone. He continued to sip onto his tea, whilst eyeing off the young adults. Hinata noticed that this time though, he had a pile of papers beside him. He grandfather placed his cup of tea down and then cleared his throat.

"Now that the both of you are present, I will disclose the full details of your marriage contract. What I tell you in this room will not be discussed outside of this room until further notice. Is that understood, Uchiha-san, Hinata-sama?"

"Hai," they replied in unison.

"It was the previous Head of the Uchiha clan who proposed the idea to your late Otousan, Hinata-sama. At a young age, you were deemed ill worthy of succeeding the title of Head due to your then lack of capabilities. Fugaku Uchiha – yes you're Otousan, Uchiha-san, had heard of these short comings."

"Why would Sasuke's Otousan propose the marriage?" Hinata said quietly under her breathe.

Hinata was aware that the Uchiha's were a strong clan. It perplexed her that they would **_want _**her despite being so fragile back then.  
Hinata hadn't realised she addressed Sasuke by his first name until it was too late. It had slipped out of her tongue and by now had sounded so natural to just say. Calling him formally had always sounded so… _unusual. _Moreover, if her grandfather had caught on to it, he chose to say nothing regarding the matter.

"Politics," Sasuke answered, "especially between both clans."

"Correct," her grandfather continued, "a political marriage between the two dojutsu clans. The two of you are of the same age making it more efficient. Moreover, Hinata-sama was deemed a failure and Uchiha-san, you could have not succeeded as Head due to being the second child. In order to amend this, Fugaku Uchiha proposed to us that the two of you should get married. There were and to this date continued, no records of an offspring created by both Hyuga and Uchiha genetics. Both Fugaku and Hiashi desired to change that. A child of two different dojutsu's would be interesting after all."

Hinata gaped. _We were only children yet… they treated us like human puppets or experiments. _She glanced at Sasuke quickly, hoping to find a reaction. Yet, the man was stoic and unfazed. However, his shoulders appeared tense and his brow furrowed. She wondered what thoughts were running through his mind. _Knowing Sasuke though, he's probably put all the pieces together easily._

"Another reason for the marriage would be the influence the joint marriage would have. Fugaku claimed that he would be able to make Hinata-sama into a formidable shinobi. His matriarch – you're Okasan, Uchiha-san – had also supported this idea. She had explained that perhaps our teaching methods were not suited for the likes of Hinata-sama. Hinata-sama's Okasan, was never a shinobi so she did not have much say in regards to this matter. Additionally, Hiashi had never involved her in clan matters."

"So… a key aspect of the marriage would have been casting fear among the villagers?" Hinata questioned.

"Yes," her grandfather replied.

"Tch. Despite being two of the strongest clans already, you both wanted to expand you're territory and power," Sasuke sneered, "ultimately I'm guessing the start of a new clan was also a fanatical idea in this plan?"

Hinata's grandfather nodded his head as he reached over for his cup of tea. He took a sip and then gently placed it down.

"Starting a new clan would have only occurred if a child with a new dojutsu or both was born. This was one of the prime conditions. Any child born of only the byakugan or sharigan would have belonged to their respective clans."

"If Hinata was to take on the Uchiha name though, I believe herself and the children would ultimately belong to the Uchiha clan," Sasuke said dryly.

Hinata frowned, she did not like the concept of being owned. Although, she knew that her grandfather and Sasuke had meant it in regards to which family she would be a part of. However, being referred to as if she was an object was infuriating.

"In any other circumstances that is right. However, these were the conditions both of your Father's agreed on. The choice of whether Hinata-sama took the Uchiha name would have been her decision to make."

Hinata licked her lips, then proceeded to question her grandfather.

"I briefly read in the contract that both the dowry and bride price were already settled. What exactly were they?"

"The dowry from the Hyuga clan was a large block of land given to the Uchiha's. This land would be where your estate would have been. Other resources, such as the payment of the building, furniture and other necessities for your future home would have all been taken care of by the Hyuga's… For the bride price, the Uchiha's paid a large sum of money and would take care of all the expenses of the wedding."

"Do the dowry, bride price and conditions still hold after all this time?" She asked.

"The contract would only be broken if either of you died or one clan ceased to exist. The latter being supposedly impossible. Unfortunately, the massacre of the Uchiha clan lead to the clan's demise. With, Uchiha-san here being the only Uchiha left, the clan was non-existent. However, now that Uchiha-san is of legal age, he is able to reinstate his clan – which you have done, I believe so. Therefore, to answer your question Hinata-sama, the marriage contract is valid."

xxx

**So there's a little bit of background into their marriage contract. However, as I said earlier the marriage contract plot isn't going to go in the way you all think (I want to explain it but I don't want to reveal any spoilers, yikes!).**

**Thank you for reading, please review xx**

**ps. Holidays are coming up for me, so I should be able to update soon rather than having a one month waiting period (apologies).**


	15. Chapter 15

**Thanks to all the reviews, favourites and follows! + To everyone reading this story, you're all super great!**

**This was probably one of my favourite chapters to write. Everything just seemed to easily flow from my mind to the paper. So I'm really hoping you all like it.**

**Chapter 15:**

Hinata wiped the sweat off her forehead as she finally finished watering the plants in the garden bed. Despite having her hair tied up in a low bun and fashioning a hat, the blistering sun still managed to be problematic. The cold mornings had begun to fade away and eventually the days were becoming hotter and longer. Hinata had regretted choosing to tend to the garden at this time of the day. Yet, at the same time she had not minded so much. Tending to the garden had put her mind at ease a little. Ever since the revelation of the engagement between Sasuke and herself, Hinata's mind had been in disarray. Her thoughts and feelings towards Sasuke were a jigsaw puzzle she had not finished. Hinata shook her head unconsciously – _Sasuke's the jigsaw puzzle. _He was so perplexing. It bewildered her.

"Hinata!"

She flicked her head towards the sound of her name. Hinata smiled when her eyes locked with glistening azure eyes.

"Hello Naruto-kun," she greeted as he jogged to meet her.

"You don't have to do this, dattebayo," he said gesturing towards the garden.

Hinata shook her head, "I don't mind. It's not difficult or time consuming."

He smiled sheepishly, scratching his cheek. "Yeah but… Sasuke asked me to look after his garden, so…"

"It's okay Naruto-kun. You're busy finalising things for when you become Hokage, right?"

Naruto smiled, "Arigato Hinata. I really appreciate this. I know **_Sasuke _**will also appreciate it."

Hinata blushed faintly at the idea of Sasuke appreciating something she did. _Would that involve him thanking me?_

"Ah – that's – um…"

Naruto laughed. Hinata looked up at him shyly, embarrassed that she was struggling to come up with a response. She bit her lip, unsure of what to say.

"Anyway, I have to head back to the Hokage office. Kakashi-sensei wants to present me to the daimyo soon."

"That's great Naruto-kun! You'll be Hokage soon, won't you?"

"Yep!" he said cheerfully as he nodded his head, "I've got all the jonin's approval, so it won't be too long until I'm Hokage dattebayo!"

Hinata smiled, "I'm glad, you deserve it."

Naruto blushed, scratching his cheek as he turned his eyes away from Hinata.

"Ah, arigato… I just hope Sasuke finishes his mission before the ceremony and all."

"Hai… it's almost been a month," she said quietly.

"Yeah…"

"Ah – but he'll be back soon."

Naruto smiled as he nodded his head.

"Well, I better get going. Ja ne, Hinata!"

Hinata waved goodbye to Naruto. She sighed once he walked out of the gates of the Uchiha compound. She frowned as she gazed at the Uchiha emblem on the gates. A part of Hinata wanted to avoid Sasuke but the other part of her eagerly waited for his return. She closed her eyes recalling the last words Sasuke had spoken to her.

_"Hinata… when I get back, I want to talk about us." _

Xxx

Sasuke splashed his face with water, hoping it would help cool him down. He stood back up, walking away from the bank of the river. He was relieved he had decided not to travel with his cloak. However, he was more relieved but sullen that he had not accepted the damn thing back from Hinata. He sighed, recalling **_that _**night – _well both nights were quite interesting actually. _The first night he referred to the day he discovered Hinata and himself were engaged. He massaged his temples recalling how idiotic it was of him to go the Hyuga compound half drunk. _I don't think Naruto would ever do that. _ Yet, when it came to Hinata, Sasuke's rational side would be pushed away. His lust and desires would take over. Whereas, the second night was the night he left for his mission. He had visited the Hyuga compound, uncaring that it was late. He couldn't care less of what the Hyuga's thought of him. He had **_wanted_** to see Hinata. He was taken to her private quarters and ushered in without a word to Hinata. He had taken Hinata by surprise as she had come out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel on. He chuckled to himself, recalling her embarrassment and shock. _Her face was so red. _ After she had gotten changed, she had sat herself in front of Sasuke. He had explained to her that he was leaving on mission and would not be back for a while. Before leaving, Hinata had handed Sasuke back his cloak but he had pushed it away from himself. He had told her he no longer needed it. She grudgingly complied, after he persuaded her to accept it. The truth was, Sasuke was afraid that the cloak would smell like Hinata. Sasuke was positive he wouldn't be able to handle the smell of Hinata on his skin. Sasuke shook his head and then sighed as he remembered the last words he had said to her.

_"Hinata… when I get back, I want to talk about us." _

Sasuke still wasn't one hundred percent sure what he meant by that. **_But _**he did want to talk to her. It was necessary. He gritted his teeth the more he thought about it all. It was all so exasperating. He had never had to deal with such complex but simple emotions before. Hence, why he hastily accepted Kakashi's urgent mission. Sasuke **_needed _**to be away from Hinata. He needed to not see her. He needed to not crave her. Sasuke wanted time to think. He needed time to regain his composure and sense of rational. _But how many weeks have passed? _If Sasuke had to be honest, **_nothing _**had changed. His feelings towards Hinata were still so confusing. He was unsure what he was planning to do.  
He had travelled the world alone for two years but it was different now. Sasuke felt lonesome without Team 7. Moreover, he had become accustomed to seeing Hinata on a regular basis. Weeks without both Team 7 and Hinata had felt so… _lonely. _Although, he was adapted to going on solo missions whilst being a part of the Anbu, he had never had to be gone for so long.  
Sasuke sighed as he began to pick up the pace again. He jumped from tree to tree, hurrying to his next destination.

Xx

Kakashi leaned back into his chair as he finally finished signing a stack of papers he had recently procrastinated doing. He let out a deep breath, exhausted by all the writing. He wondered how all the previous Hokage had managed it. _Assistances? Alcohol? _  
He rubbed his chin. He had both but neither would ever help in the slightest when it came to the paperwork. He chuckled wondering how on earth Sasuke had somehow managed to do it. Despite **_hating _**his assigned task, his ex-pupil had managed to re-write most of the books. More importantly, Kakashi pondered how Sasuke was doing on his current mission.  
His solo mission involved getting more information on the current rebel organisations forming around a variety of regions, specifically in the Land of Fire. Kakashi had received word from the other Kages of uprising in their lands. Specific people who enjoyed violence disliked the new era of peace. Kakashi decided to send in Sasuke to find more information and to do any necessary cleaning up. In addition to this, Kakashi had ordered him to scope around Orochimaru's hideout to see if he also had any information. Initially, he planned to send in other Anbu members but Sasuke had seemed tense. Kakashi mused it was his lack of sparring with Naruto and working out in the field.

_Hopefully, this mission helped loosen his tension. _

Suddenly, Kakashi heard a tapping on his window. He spun his chair around, to find a hawk perched upon the window still. Kakashi opened the window, immediately recognising it as Sasuke's hawk. He removed the letter from the hawk's legs and read the message Sasuke had left him.

_Kakashi,_

_Tonika Village is all clear. Heading back as you read this. _

_Sasuke. _

Xxxx

Hinata had not seen Sasuke in weeks. Ever since he whispered **_those _**words to her, she had attempted to block all thoughts of him. It was pointless though. Somehow, he had managed to etch his way under her skin. Hinata's mind was filled with thoughts of Sasuke. He was peculiar. A man of not many words but yet his body language spoke volumes. Moreover, when he did speak he was clear and concise. He wasted no words.

Hinata sighed as she entered the cemetery. She brought the bouquet of flowers closer to her chest. She smelled them and smiled happily. It was Neji's favourite flowers. Hinata sighed, thinking about Neji would always somehow connect back to Sasuke. They were both stoic. It was strange, initially, when Sasuke and she met eye to eye, the bitterness he felt towards her had felt similar to the bitterness Neji had felt for her in the past. She wanted to change that. She wanted Sasuke to like her. She wanted Sasuke to like her as a person. Hinata blushed at the mere thought of Sasuke admitting he valued Hinata as friend. That would never happen, she thought. We're strangers after all. However, they had gotten closer and Sasuke was somewhat kind to her. She supposed it was a start. She enjoyed his presence. If Hinata could trust her instincts, Sasuke didn't seem to mind her as well. _And now… we're –_

"Hinata."

Hinata's breath hitched as she heard that voice. There was no one else with such a coarse voice. The way he called out her name, it was almost entrancing. She gazed up at him surprised. Although weeks had passed, the moment her eyes had fallen upon Sasuke it felt like no time had passed. It was as if the time apart of not seeing him was a misconception she had created in her mind.

"What are you blushing about?" He asked, dropping his arm to his side. Hinata watched the single flower in his hand droop a little in response to his movement.

"Nothing," she whispered as she shyly looked away.

"Hn."

He continued to walk past her, as if she was a ghost. It made sense though that he would disregard her like that. Sasuke had once said she meant nothing to him. It seemed that had not changed. Perhaps it would never change. Yet **_that _**night… she was so sure it wasn't a dream. Sasuke had made her feel as if she was significant in his life.

"Wait!" She called out.

Hinata turned on her heel and ran to catch up to Sasuke. He did not turn around to face her but he had stopped. Once she caught up and stood by his side, he continued to walk.  
Sasuke glanced at her and smiled. It was not a smirk but a genuine smile that radiated on his face. Hinata reddened, Sasuke's eyes no longer held bitterness in it as he gazed upon her.

"Let me borrow this," Sasuke reached over to her bouquet of flowers and plucked two from it.

"Sasuke, the reason I came was – well…"

"Hinata," he said quietly.

She turned to face him and realised that he was not addressing her but asking her to stop talking. She watched Sasuke kneel down and place one of the flowers on his mother's grave.

"You remind me of my Okasan."

Hinata kneeled beside him. "Tell me about her."

Xx

Sasuke and Hinata were both unsure of how much time had passed. They sat with one another on a hill, in a secluded part of the forest. The two Heads were so enthralled in one another, that it seemed like no time had passed at all.  
After paying their respects to their family, the two had wandered into the forest silently. A few comments were made here and there. Nonetheless, both Sasuke and Hinata did not mind the silence. It allowed the two of them to sort out their minds.

"Sasuke," Hinata said as she fidgeted with her fingers, "how was your mission?"

"It went as planned," he replied.

"I see…"

"Thank you… for looking after the garden," he added awkwardly.

Hinata blushed and pulled out some of the grass beside her.

"I just had some free time, so I thought…" She bit her lip and turned her head to face Sasuke, "I didn't mind at all, Sasuke."

He smirked, "You're quite fond of gardening, aren't you Hinata?"

She nodded her head, "Hai… I used to do a lot of it with Okasan."

"My Okasan always dragged me along to do it with her," he said. Sasuke then smiled sincerely before adding, "I pretended to dislike it but I'm sure she knew I enjoyed it."

"That sounds like you," she said whilst trying to hold in a giggle.

He arched his eyebrow, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, I –"

Hinata paused at the realisation that Sasuke had shifted closer to her, _or perhaps I shifted closer to him? _She gulped as she looked down at their hands. They're hands were only a few inches apart. Her cheeks reddened.

"Hinata?"

Sasuke leaned in closer to her and repeated the question again. His voice a little sterner this time.

She turned her eyes away from him before quietly replying.

"I might be wrong but… sometimes you say things which you don't mean."

"Hn."

She flicked her eyes back to Sasuke. He looked unfazed as he stared right back at her. After a few seconds, he turned his eyes away from her. He stared at his hand.

"Are you still in love with Naruto?"

Hinata smiled sadly. She plucked the grass around her and sighed.

"There are lingering feelings. But I'm not in love with him anymore."

"He still loves you though."

"Yes… I've talked to him about it though. Naruto-kun, wants me to be happy. As do I want him to be happy."

"He was happy with you," Sasuke scorned.

Hinata frowned, "I suppose he was before the incident…" Her voice died down a little. Despite how much time had passed, a part of Hinata would always feel sad that she would never meet her unborn child. Hinata was grateful that Sasuke did not say anything. Rather, he noticed Hinata struggled to find the words. She closed her eyes and released a few breathes. She opened her eyes and continued.

"After what happened, both Naruto and I just weren't the same with one another. He pitied me and I hurt him. Sasuke… I hurt Naruto by not seeking solace with him. I hurt Naruto and I know he's still hurting. He won't ever say it but I know he feels betrayed that I never went to him for comfort. I secluded myself away from people. I became a recluse. Both of us became living shells of our former selves… We can't get back together. It's too difficult. We're just two different people now."

Hinata hugged her knees in embarrassment. _I can't believe I just said that all to Sasuke! _Sasuke said nothing to her as she attempted to hide her face from him. She bit her lip. Hinata wasn't sure what she expected how Sasuke would reply. She grimaced. Hinata didn't even know if she **_wanted _**Sasuke to reply. Hinata let out a sigh. She had kept those thoughts to herself for a while. It had felt nice to let it all out. Hinata had friends but she felt like they could not understand her. Sasuke on the other hand, somehow understood her. He could read her without her having to usher a word to him. Sasuke was just on the same wavelength as herself.

Suddenly, Sasuke stood up and clicked his tongue.

"Let's go spar Hinata."

"Nani?"

"I'm not going to repeat myself."

Sasuke turned his head away from Hinata as he extended his hand out to Hinata. She smiled as she reached out for his hand, grabbing onto it. Sasuke's hand easily overlapped Hinata's small hand. His hand felt dependable and radiated a sense of warmth. Despite his hands feeling rough, his grasp on Hinata was gentle.  
She let go of his hand as soon as she was up on her feet. Sasuke immediately placed his hand back by his side.

"Let's go," he said.

Quietly, the two Heads walked out of the forest, side by side.

Xx

Hinata gasped as Sasuke's katana sliced off an inch of her hair. Before Sasuke could swing his katana back to her, Hinata flipped away from him, managing to dodge his next cut. He smirked as he watched Hinata let out a huff. Despite the woman looking fragile and delicate, she was definitely the opposite of what her first impressions gave off. He licked his lips as he sheathed his katana. Hinata deactivated her byakugan as she took deep breathes in and out. He assumed Hinata had given her all whilst they sparred. Sasuke on the other hand, held back quite a lot due to the obvious reasons. Even so, Hinata was strong. Stronger than the last time they had sparred. _Well, you can't really call that a spar. It was more so I attacked her by surprised. _

"Arigato, Sasuke," she called out, "I really needed a decent spar."

"Aa. Let's get you home," he said as he began to walk towards her.

Hinata nodded her head and stood up straight once Sasuke approached her. Hinata winced as she covered her hand over her stomach. She released a heavy breath and wiped the sweat off her face.

"I didn't… Did I hurt you?" He asked quietly.

Hinata smiled as looked up at him. Sasuke looked into her white eyes, seeing no pain in them whatsoever. She simply looked at peace.

"No. I just haven't sparred like this in so long so I'm just a little out of breath. Please don't worry about it Sasuke."

"Aa," he replied.

She gave him another smile before the two began walking back to their respective estates. Like most of their walks, it was silent and peaceful. He glanced at Hinata quickly, noticing how her shirt stuck tightly to her body due to being drenched in sweat. He clenched his jaw as he became aware of just how fortunate Hinata was to have perfect sized breasts. They weren't too big nor too small. He scowled, _I'm becoming a perve. _

"Is something wrong, Sasuke?" She asked.

He furrowed his brow as he averted his eyes back to the road.

"No."

It seemed to be the wrong answer as Hinata frowned at his response. He ignored it, continuing to look at the road. As the Hyuga estate became more visible, Sasuke mused now would be the appropriate time to discuss with Hinata a certain issue.

"Hinata… what do you think of the marriage arrangement?"

He observed her blink and then blush faintly.

"I – I think that…It's fine."

He raised his eyebrow, "Fine?"

"The arrangement is valid. It can't exactly become null, so…"

"Hn. However, we're the Heads of our clan now, so it wouldn't be a problem for us both to make it null."

"Oh – I – that's true. I guess I never thought of it like that…"

Before they knew it, Sasuke and Hinata reached the entrance of the Hyuga compound. They stopped before it.

"Hinata, I want you to be honest. Do you… Do you have feelings for me?"

He gritted his teeth, embarrassed that he had asked such a forward question.

Hinata's eyes widened at the question, her face tinting an even greater shade of red. She then looked down at her feet and fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. She looked back at him before she replied.

"Yes," she said quietly. "Do you –"

"Yes," he countered.

xxx

**Aaaa they finally sort of admitted they have feelings for one another! Thus, begins the drama aha. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review !**


	16. Chapter 16

**A humongous thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed. I am so glad, that you all enjoyed the last chapter. Moreover, thanks to all the readers, follows and favourites.**

**After doing some plotting of the story, I realised this story might be ending sooner than I thought, which is crazy to think. I've pretty much written most of the last chapter of this story, so now I just have to get there!**

**To the guest reviewer, ****_Anne, _****I just wanted to answer your question: Yes, it has been addressed earlier in the story that Sakura still has feelings for Sasuke. However, similar to Naruto, she just wants him to be happy. **

**Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's quite a simplistic, non-drama filled chapter for once.**

**Chapter 16: **

Her mouth was agape as Sasuke subtly hinted that he had feelings for her. She closed her mouth immediately though, once Hinata realised it was open in shock. Hinata blushed and bit her lip.

_What happens now?_

Before the two could continue their conversation, a Hyuga servant had appeared before them. He cleared his throat before talking.

"Pardon the intrusion, Hinata-sama and Uchiha-sama, your grandfather requests both of your presences."

"Very well. Please tell Grandfather, we'll be with him in a moment."

The Hyuga servant complied and bowed before taking his leave. Hinata looked up to Sasuke, attempting to unravel his thoughts. As usual, he looked… _irritated. _

"Let's go," he said dryly.

"Hai!"

Despite it being the Hyuga compound, it was Sasuke whom walked in front of her, as if commanding authority. She wondered if he was ever conscious of that. It didn't bother Hinata, he was **_stronger _**than her. Suddenly, Sasuke stopped and waited for Hinata to catch up to him. Once she stood beside him, she raised her eyebrow at him.

"Sasuke?"

He clenched his jaw, "We're going to decline to the marriage contract."

"Nani?"

"Propose the idea to terminate it. I'll agree with it."

"But I thought…"

"You have feelings for me, don't you?" He asked.

As Hinata nodded her head, Sasuke confidently said, "Then decline the contract."

"I don't understand…"

"I don't want to marry you, Hinata… I -"

She sighed. _Does Sasuke have feelings for me or did I imagine everything? He makes no sense whatsoever. _She clicked her tongue, annoyed at how perplexing Sasuke could be. _It doesn't matter though. Marriage is something I've decided to delay until I'm older. I have to worry about the clan and Hanabi. Love and such emotions can wait. _

"I understand Sasuke."

For a slight second, she witnessed shock pass through Sasuke as his eyes became wide. In seconds though, his stoic expression surfaced again. Suddenly, his hand clutched onto her arm and pulled her closer towards him. Her breathe hitched at the sudden turn of events.

"Hinata," he said coarsely, "Do you really understand?"

She nodded her head.

He sneered, "You don't."

"Nani?"

Hinata watched, as a light shade of red became apparent on Sasuke's cheeks. He mumbled very quietly to her.

"I want to be with you."

"But you said –"

"Let me finish," he hissed, "I want to be with you… but not like this. Growing up, I was always being controlled and manipulated. I don't want that to happen **_ever _**again."

"Is that why you want the contract to be terminated?" She asked.

He nodded, "If we pursue this, it has to be on our own terms… Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand," she replied.

Hinata smiled at Sasuke as he let go of her arm. Quietly, the two Heads walked side by side into the main branch estate. Both felt reassured, that their futures would be changed and the Hyuga elders would have no meddling in it.

Xx

After terminating the contract – which her grandfather was not pleased about – Hinata and Sasuke felt like a weight was lifted off their shoulders. No longer were the two bound by an old and controlling agreement. From here on out, their futures would be left to them.

In the months that passed, Hinata found herself growing closer to Sasuke. Eventually, Hinata had become accustomed to all his habits, his different scowls and he was hardly a mystery to her. Each day, she learnt something new about him. Either it was a little about his past or his hopes for the future. Hinata learnt of his interests and dislikes, and more importantly she began to realise how strongly Sasuke could love**_. _**She had once heard that no one loved as strongly as the Uchiha clan and she now understood why. Sasuke was always so patient with her, understanding and above all he made her feel happy. Hinata spent most of her afternoons with Sasuke when he was not a mission. It was a silent mutual agreement between them. She would tend to his garden and in exchange he cooked various meals for her from time to time. Hinata loved watching him cook. At first it was strange to see Sasuke do something so normal, but the more she had witnessed it, the more she **_adored _**it. Moreover, the food was always tasty.

She smiled to herself as she stared out the window, lost in her thoughts.

"People are going to think you're crazy if you keep smiling like that."

She blinked and turned her gaze towards the man occupying her thoughts. He sat in an armchair across from her, reading a book. His eyes focused on the page before him.

"People already think that I am," she replied.

He flipped the page he was reading, "Because you spend a lot of time with me?"

"Probably," she mused, "I don't mind."

"Hn."

She watched as Sasuke folded the top corner of his book. He closed his book and placed it on the coffee table.

"Come here," he ordered.

Hinata arched her eyebrow, as she stood up from her chair. She walked over to him and stood before him. He gestured for her to come closer, forcing Hinata to lean down. Suddenly, he squeezed her cheeks, causing her to groan in pain.

He smirked, "You've put on weight."

Hinata slapped his hands off her cheeks and rubbed them.

"I have not."

"You're a bit chubby in the cheeks now," he commented.

Hinata blushed at his observation. _Well it's true I have been eating more than usual but that's only because Sasuke's food is too delicious to resist!_

"I haven't –"

"It's cute," he said.

Hinata stared at him incredulously. He snickered at her shocked expression. She watched him turn his gaze towards the window. Since it was December, winter had come and it begun to snow. Today, it seemed the snow was falling harder than usual.

"You should go home now," he said.

She sighed and agreed with him. Sasuke stood up and walked Hinata to the door. She took her coat off the hook, placing it back on. Sasuke handed Hinata her scarf, he waited for her to wrap it around her neck. Once she slipped on her shoes, Sasuke opened the door for her.

"I'm going on a mission tomorrow morning," he said as Hinata began to descend the steps.

She stopped and turned to face him.

"For how long?"

He crossed his arms and leaned against the post, "A few days. I'll be back before Christmas."

"Sasuke… Christmas isn't til a few weeks."

He frowned, "You really have gone crazy."

"Nani?"

"Christmas is in ten days."

Hinata's eyes widened at the realisation. _If Christmas is in ten days… then my birthday is in twelve days! _Hinata covered her mouth with her hands, shocked at how quickly time had passed.

"Baka," he teased.

She blushed and pursed her lips. Before she could retort, she heard a voice in the distance calling her.

"Onee-san!"

She flicked her head to see Hanabi standing not too far from the gates of Uchiha compound but still quite close to the gates of the Hyuga compound.

"You'd bet get going," Sasuke said, gesturing towards Hanabi.

"Aa," she said unconsciously mimicking one of his usual responses, "I'll see you soon then, Sasuke."

He nodded his head and watched her walk out of the gates. Sasuke waited for Hinata to reach her sister before he returned inside. Despite his home feeling warm and appearing to be occupied, it felt a little a cold and lonely without Hinata. _Perhaps, that'll change eventually. _

Xx

"Onee-san," Hanabi said with a smirk, "when will you actually go on a proper date?"

"Hanabi!" Hinata exclaimed.

Hanabi crossed her arms and shrugged her shoulders.

"What? It's true isn't it?" She asked in a confident tone, "that you're dating Uchiha Sasuke. **_Everyone _**has been talking about it. You do spend most of your time with him nowadays."

Hinata blushed at the mention of **_everyone _**discussing her relationship with Sasuke.

"It's just gossip, Hanabi-chan."

Hanabi looked at her sister suspiciously, "Uh huh. I'm not a child Onee-san. He **_likes _**you. And **_you _**like him."

Hinata frowned, as she watched her sister tap towards her eyes.

"Don't forget the Hyuga clan and I have the byakugan," she teased.

Her eyes widened at Hanabi's comment, "You've been spying on me!?"

"No of course not," Hanabi then smiled mischievously "maybe just a little…"

"Hanabi!"

"Relax Onee-san, I'm just worried about you. Uchiha-san is handsome but he's also quite intimidating. When your relationship with Naruto-kun ended, you weren't yourself. I just don't want that to happen again."

Hinata sighed, at the end of the day Hanabi would always worry endlessly about her. Hanabi still did not know the truth behind her and Naruto's break up. _I'll tell her one day, when she's much older. She's still a little bit of a hot head. Who knows what she'll do. _

Hinata smiled as she pulled Hanabi in for a hug, "Thank you Hanabi-chan… But Sasuke won't hurt me. I promise."

Hanabi returned the hug and then she asked, "So can you answer the question?"

"Huh?"

"When will you go out on a proper date? I know the two of you are very private people but don't settle for nothing but the best Onee-san, you got that?"

Hinata smiled at her sisters ramblings.

"We're not together," Hinata said quietly, "we're just… friends?"

Hinata frowned once she heard that her statement sounded more like a question. It was the truth though, Hinata had no idea just what exactly the relationship was between Sasuke and herself. She peered at Hanabi, who either chose to ignore Hinata's awkward answer or did not catch on to it.

"But you two – I see the way he looks at you! You haven't kissed or anything?!" Hanabi exclaimed.

Hinata blushed, remembering the one time they had kissed. _That was so long ago. _She smiled remembering how sour their relationship had been at that time. _Time sure does fly. _

Hinata shook her head and replied, "No, like I said Hanabi-chan, we're just friends."

Hanabi crossed her arms and pouted in defeat.

"Your face says otherwise," she muttered.

Hinata opened her mouth to retort but before she could a Hyuga servant interrupted the sisters. The servant had apologised for interrupting and explained that the Hyuga elders were waiting for Hinata to begin their fortnightly meetings. Hinata farewelled Hanabi and made her way to the meeting room.  
The termination of the marriage contract had irritated the elders quite a bit. Regardless, they had never brought it up again. Deep down, Hinata knew the Hyuga elders were planning something. They were always like that – cunning and working amongst the shadows. For all she knew, they were probably spying on Sasuke and herself. Hinata's mind was fixated on the idea that once Hanabi had took over the positon of Head, they would force Hinata's hand in marriage to a bachelor of their choosing – the latter only occurring if Sasuke and she were not married. _And with the way things are progressing, marriage is out of the question for a few years. _Afterwards, they would snicker at Hinata, almost rubbing it in her face that she **_could _**have been married to Sasuke if she did not terminate the contract. Alas, she would have to marry some strange man and move to another country.

Hinata grimaced. It wouldn't surprise her if the Hyuga elders had managed to elaborate such a plan. She shook her head. _No, relax Hinata. Everything will work out…I hope._

Xx

_Clink! Clink! Clink!_

"Merry Christmas!"

Sakura smiled as she took a sip of her glass of wine. She observed the other members in the room, all of Konoha twelve – minus Sasuke – had gathered together for Christmas. It had been awhile since they had all gotten together like this. After all, they were all adults now and had their own responsibilities. Everyone looked so happy, it was refreshing. _I wish Sasuke-kun was here though as well. _

She examined the room once more. She noticed Kiba and Ino stuck a little more closely to one another than usual. Ino caught her eyes and stuck out her tongue. Sakura retorted at her and laughed. Ino then latched her arm off of Kiba and walked over to Sakura.

"Hey forehead," Ino nudged her in the ribs and grinned, "it's Christmas, are you planning on making it special?"

"Hmm, not that I know of?"

Ino pouted, "Sakura, you're one of the most desired women in this freaking village… Please don't tell me you're still hung up on Sasuke-kun?"

Sakura frowned, "Ino…"

Ino smiled sadly and grabbed Sakura's free hand. She squeezed it.

"Sakura… you've heard the rumours right? Hinata-chan and Sasuke –"

Sakura sighed, "I know. I'm not bitter about it or anything. I'm just… I still love Sasuke-kun and he's told me he doesn't feel the same way. It's just… Gomen, I don't know how to explain it."

Ino squeezed her hand again.

"Ne, Sakura, it's going to get easier. It'll just take some time."

Sakura nodded her head, "Hai. Thanks Ino."

Ino smiled, "What are best friends for? Come on let's get more drinks!"

The rest of the night flashed by so quickly for Sakura. She recalled hitting Naruto a few times due to his idiotic habits. Sakura had even talked to Hinata for a bit. She hadn't talked to her in so long, it felt nice. Sakura had forgotten how sweet and caring Hinata was. It was impossible to be angry at Hinata. Whilst, they were together Sakura had muttered to Hinata that she gave Hinata her blessing. At first, the Hyuga Head had been confused but seconds after it had sunk in and Hinata was blushing like a tomato. Sakura laughed at Hinata…_she's so cute. _She remembered drinking a lot of wine and eating a lot of food until her stomach could no longer handle it.

Sakura yawned and rubbed her eyes. She blinked trying to figure out where she was exactly now. She could see the ground and it was moving. _Someone's carrying me._ She moved her head to try get a better idea of whom it was but whomever was holding her, tightened their grip on her legs in response to her moving. She sighed, deciding it was useless. However, she then realised there was only one person who would ever wear such an ugly orange jacket and take care of her like this.

_Naruto._

Xxx

"Arigato, for walking me home Shino-kun," Hinata said once Shino and herself had reached the entrance of the Hyuga compound.

Shino nodded his head, his hands stuffed in pockets.

"It was my pleasure Hinata-chan. I'm glad we could catch up."

"Yes, it was wonderful to spend time with everyone."

"That is true… well I best get going. Goodbye, Hinata-chan."

Hinata waved Shino goodbye and sighed. This year's Christmas was so fun and delightful. _The only thing missing was having Sasuke here… _She glanced towards the Uchiha compound, it was shrouded in darkness. _I guess he's still not back yet…I hope nothing happened to him. _Hinata shook her head and walked into the compound. The Hyuga guards greeted her as she passed by. She made her way quietly to her private quarters. Hinata began to unwrap her scarf from her neck and then she took off her coat, letting it fall to her feet. She went into her bathroom and washed up, attempting to sober herself up. Afterwards, she stripped naked and changed into a fresh set of underwear and sleepwear. Hinata then collapsed onto her bed and sighed. She rolled over, attempting to sleep. Nonetheless, she could not sleep. Her thoughts kept tracing back to Sasuke. She groaned inwardly. Hinata sat up and jumped off her bed. She walked over to her wardrobe and pulled out Sasuke's cloak. She placed it on herself and exhaled.

Suddenly, she squealed at the sound of a light knock on her window. She activated her byakugan, to see whom it was. She smiled, immediately recognising the figure as Sasuke. Hinata paused, in the midst of turning around. She clutched the cloak tighter to her body at the realisation that she was wearing her sleeping wear underneath. Hinata inhaled and then exhaled before going to open the window for Sasuke.

"Hinata," he greeted.

"Sasuke," she countered.

He nodded his head and slipped into her room. He shut the window behind him, in order to not let the cold in. Sasuke shook his head, trying to get the snow out of his hair. Hinata giggled, Sasuke reminded her of a child. Sasuke scowled as he watched her laugh.

"What?"

"Nothing," she whispered.

"Hn… is that my cloak?" He asked gesturing towards the cloak she clutched onto tightly.

Hinata's cheeks reddened a little as she shyly nodded.

"It looks better on you," he commented.

"Arigato."

Hinata shifted her weight to her other foot and bit her lip.

"Um… did you want to sit down?"

Sasuke nodded his head and followed Hinata to her table. They sat across from one another, not too close but not too far apart. She watched Sasuke glance at her clock quickly before returning his attention back to her. Sasuke then dug his hand into his pockets and fetched out a small box. He handed it over to Hinata gently.

"This is for you," he said, placing it on the palm of her hand.

"Oh… you didn't have to Sasuke," she frowned, Hinata had not gotten Sasuke anything because she was unsure if he celebrated things like Christmas.

"It's fine," he muttered.

Hinata unwrapped the gift and gasped at the contents of the box. She lifted out a simple yet divine necklace. It was a silver chain with a pendant of a silver, crescent moon.

"Sasuke," she whispered, "it's beautiful."

He smiled, "Turn around, I'll put it on for you."

Hinata handed him the necklace and turned around. She held up the back of her hair, allowing Sasuke's arms to encircle her. He placed the necklace around her neck and clipped it on.

"Hinata," he whispered, "Merry Christmas."

xx

**That's it for now folks! I hope Sasuke didn't seem too OOC? P**

**Thanks for reading, please review :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**My deepest apologises for updating so so so late. I've been super busy, got sick and travelled overseas to visit family (I only got back into the country late last night!) On top of that, I have an enormous pile of work from school and I'm about to start getting my university applications done. So, it's been difficult to find the time to update.**

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited this story! I am so glad that everyone enjoyed the last chapter. **

**I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter. A little short, so I give you my sincerest apologises.**

** Chapter 17:**

Sasuke smiled in happiness as he watched Hinata turn around to face him again. It was pleasing to the eyes, to watch her hold the necklace he had bought for her in such fascination.

"It's so beautiful," she repeated.

"Aa."

Hinata peered up at him and smiled. In a blink of an eye, she threw her arms around him and embraced him. Sasuke froze, unsure of how to respond. He closed his eyes and raised his arms behind her. With delicacy, he placed his hands on her lower back. He returned the embrace and pulled her closer towards him. Sasuke's eyes widened when he felt Hinata nuzzle herself into his neck, her hair tickling him in the process. He was unsure where she found this new sense of confidence, _perhaps she's had a little bit to drink?_ Nonetheless, he didn't care. Holding Hinata felt right.

Hinata then surprised him by moving her face right in front of his. Due to already being quite close from the embrace, their lips were so close to another. It would only take one of them to inch closer to the other for their lips to touch. Hinata gazed into his eyes, blinking and then she stared back at his lips. Sasuke removed one hand from her back, to place it on her cheek. He caressed her cheek with his thumb. Hinata closed her eyes at the touch, leaning into his hand. He then placed his forehead onto hers, whilst he continued to hold her.

"Hinata," he whispered, "I have a lot of bad habits…"

She fluttered her eyes open and peering up at Sasuke. Hinata smiled. She ran her fingers through his hair as she replied, "I don't mind."

Sasuke let out a faint laugh. He kissed her forehead.

"No I mean – When I want something," he paused and then kissed her again on her temple, "I won't stop until I get it."

He felt Hinata tremble at his touch. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. She let out a faint moan as Sasuke's kisses travelled down her cheeks, to the corner of her lips, to her jaw and then her neck. Hinata immediately leaned back a little, to give him more access to her neck.

"I know… I like that about you," Hinata whispered.

He paused and removed his lips from her neck. Hinata opened her eyes. Their eyes met at once.

"If you let this continue, I won't be able to stop myself. It'll become a bad habit."

Hinata smiled, her cheeks dusted with a faint blush.

"Sasuke, I want it all - your bad and good habits," she confessed.

Unlike the last time they had kissed, Sasuke's lips had not come crashing onto Hinata's. Slowly, the two Heads moved their heads closer and closer to one another. It seemed that time had moved slowly as they edged closer to one another. Their noses touched, brushing past one another. Sasuke caressed Hinata's cheek with his thumb again. He glanced into her pearly eyes, which radiated with light and warmth. Hinata was truly an exquisite woman in Sasuke's eyes. He felt Hinata's breathe on his lips, causing him to shake in anticipation. He had waited for so long for this moment. And now, she was in his grasp. Sasuke couldn't wait any more. The tension was unbearable. His self-control when it came to Hinata had tipped.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Hinata blinked, unsure of what he was thanking for her. She smiled regardless. Hinata couldn't help but feel happy when she heard Sasuke usher those words. Before she knew it, Sasuke pressed his lips gently against hers and she too, pressed her lips against his.

_Merry Christmas, Sasuke._

Xx

The next morning, Hinata couldn't stop smiling. She ran her fingers over her lips, grinning at the memory of the kisses she and Sasuke shared last night. It was through his gentle touches and passionate kisses that she finally understood how much Sasuke craved her. And she too, craved him so deeply. She smiled again and ignored the plate of food placed before her. Hinata kept thinking about how long she had waited for a moment like last night to happen. Now that it had happened, Hinata wondered would things between them change. Before last night, Sasuke would try to avoid touching her in such a manner. Most of the time, it seemed like he was keeping a barrier between them. The past months she had spent with Sasuke, she was never confident on his true feelings towards her. He rarely expressed his thoughts about Hinata. And, when he would, Sasuke usually teased her, rather than discussing what he wanted out of their relationship.

_ But now…it's obvious our feelings are mutual._

Hinata grinned again, fiddling with the necklace Sasuke had gotten for her. _It's so lovely._

"It looks like you had a good Christmas, Onee-san," Hanabi said as she sat across from her sister.

Hinata jumped, trying to hold in another smile. She hadn't realised Hanabi had walked into the dining room.

"You'd better eat before your breakfast gets cold," Hanabi said.

She gestured towards the untouched food placed in front of Hinata.

Hinata nodded her head, gave her thanks and began to eat.

"So," Hanabi grinned, "was it a good Christmas?"

Hinata nodded her head, as she swallowed her food.

"Yes, it was wonderful to spend time with everyone. What about you, Hanabi-chan?" Hinata asked.

"Mmm," Hanabi replied whilst chewing on your toast, "it was good. Probably not as fun as yours though… you've been smiling non-stop."

Hinata blushed and lowered her head in embarrassment.

Hanabi laughed, "Onee-san, it's good to see you smiling like that."

Hinata raised her head, meeting Hanabi's eyes. They were full of sincerity and kindness. Hinata giggled.

"It feels good to be smiling like this, Hanabi-chan."

Xx

Sasuke sighed as he stretched his arm out on his bed to find it empty_. Another dream huh…_ Hinata would usually occupy his dreams but recently, she was appearing more often. And after last night, Sasuke couldn't argue against the reasoning behind it. He had kissed Hinata before but last night was different. Sasuke was unsure on how to explain it but it had felt like there was fire within his chest that had been set ablaze. Hinata's kisses burned into him. Sasuke felt like no time had passed, it was just the two of them all alone, absorbed in one another's presence. When they had finally broken apart, Christmas had ended and morning had come. Moreover, without himself realising, he had carried Hinata onto her bed and his body hovered over hers. In that moment, Hinata looked so serene, her smile reaching to her eyes. Afterwards, Sasuke had laid beside her. He held her in his arms until she fell asleep. A small part of him regretted leaving Hinata's side to return to his lonesome bed. _Being apart from Hinata is probably why I have all these dreams of her._ Most of the time – like this morning – his dreams of her where sexual. Yet, there were times when his dreams of Hinata became like a nightmare. It always seemed too realistic that Sasuke would wake up in panic and sweat. Sometimes, he dreamed of the Uchiha massacre and the horrifying things he had seen during his time with Orochimaru. Sasuke had become accustom to the dreams though. After all, they were repetitive dreams he had growing up. Unfortunately, he would now see Hinata in his nightmares. Sasuke felt even more terrified when she was in his nightmares.

Sasuke sat up and pinched his nose_. I need to get it together_. He pulled his bed sheet off of himself, got off the bed and went to his bathroom to shower. Afterwards, he made his way to the kitchen in to prepare breakfast for himself. He opened his fridge and immediately groaned. During his rush to get back to Konoha before Christmas had ended, he had forgotten he no longer had any consumable food left. His eyes twitched as he stared at all the remaining food in his fridge – _they're all expired_.

Sasuke glanced at the clock hanging in the kitchen. It was only nine in the morning and he mused that Naruto would most likely still be sleeping. Sasuke sighed, deciding that seeing Naruto would be the easiest way to kill two birds with one stone.

Xx

Naruto groaned into his pillow as heard the continuous knocks on his door getting louder and more violent. There could only be one person who would knock in such a manner this early in the morning – _Sasuke. _  
Naruto rolled over onto his back, staring at his plain ceiling. He sat up, got off the bed and rummaged through some clothes on the floor to find a shirt. He slipped a random shirt on quickly, letting out a frustrated sigh as the knocks got louder.

"I'm coming!" He yelled.

_That damn bastard. He knows where I keep the spare key but never uses it._

It was always like this. Whenever Sasuke wanted to train early in the morning, he would continuously knock furiously until Naruto had no choice but to wake up. For some unknown reason, Sasuke refused to use the spare key. Naruto had always assumed Sasuke's choice of not using the spare key was in order to spite him.

Naruto unlocked the door, opening it to find his brother, best friend and rival. On the surface, Sasuke seemed the same. However, with one glance, Naruto managed to decipher that Sasuke was somewhat pleased. As if he was triumphant about something.

Naruto yawned, "Sasuke, what's up? I'm tired so this better be important."

"Aren't you lazy for someone who's going to be Hokage soon," Sasuke commented as he noticed Naruto's messy appearance.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "I'm not Hokage yet, so let me enjoy being lazy. Plus, yesterday was Christmas! So I have a good excuse of being tired. Speaking of Christmas, shouldn't you be tired?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "The mission wasn't that complicated."

Naruto sighed, despite being acclaimed as prodigy, Sasuke could sometimes not read between the lines.

"I meant last night… you know?"

Sasuke cocked his eyebrow, "What about it?"

"You were with Hinata weren't you?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke scowled and Naruto grinned in response. _Bingo!_

Naruto crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. The grin never leaving his face.

"I thought so. I was using my sage chakra last night and sensed you with Hinata. It was fairly late as well."

Naruto observed as a slight expression of irritation and guilt pass through Sasuke's face. Seconds later, his stoic face returned.

"Is there a problem with that?" Sasuke asked.

"Not that I'm aware of…. So, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked as he finally realised Sasuke was dressed in civilian clothing. "You're obviously not here to train… Ah! Here to give me a Christmas present dattebayo!?"

Sasuke scowled, "Don't' be stupid. Get dressed, we're going out."

"Huh? Why?"

"Breakfast," he growled.

Naruto laughed, slapping his hand onto Sasuke's shoulder.

"Ha! So teme, does this count as Christmas present?"

Sasuke did not reply to Naruto's question. Instead, Naruto was met with Sasuke's infamous glare.

"Okay, okay. Give me a few minutes Sasuke, I'll be dressed in a bit," Naruto said as he began to walk back inside the house, "Something's obviously eating your ass since you're so damn insistent on 'breakfast'. You're paying by the way!"

xx

Naruto scrunched his nose as he watched Sasuke drink his cup of coffee effortlessly and with content. Naruto on the other hand, was much happier with his cup of black tea. He had never been a fan of coffee. It was always too bitter tasting for him. He recalled Hinata liking coffee despite being a fan of sweets. _I wonder if Sasuke and Hinata drink coffee together…_

"So," Naruto said, "Kakashi-sensei filled me in about your previous mission and what not. Is the situation that bad?"

"Hn," Sasuke murmured as he placed his cup of coffee back onto the table, "on the surface, things look stable but it's more noticeable in poorer villages which are still recovering from the war."

Naruto rubbed his jaw, "We've had some incidents here in Konoha as well with the rebel organisations. Nothing major but it's keeping us on our toes… after all this is supposed to be an era of peace."

"It's that peace which has put a lot of shinobi out of jobs. Missions are common still but not as common as they were before the war. It's rare to get something high paying unless you're in Anbu."

Naruto nodded in agreement. Peace was a difficult thing to control. Especially, when people were getting restless. Already, rebel organisations had started advocating for change and threatening with uprisings. The Kages worked together on trying to resolve the issue and to avoid civilians on finding out about it. However, there was a high possibility civilians had already taken notice.

"Most of the re-con and assessments you did helped a lot. Kakashi-sensei is sending in a tracking team soon to pinpoint the exact location of their main base."

Sasuke smirked, "Look at you, being included in all this private information."

"Well, I am going to be taking over soon, dattebayo!"

"Aa… Anyway, a tracking team?" Sasuke asked

"Yeah! Konoha's **_best _**tracking team, Team Kureani!" Naruto said proudly.

Sasuke frowned, "Isn't that Hinata's team?"

"Yeah," Naruto smiled sadly, "but minus Hinata of course. As the Head of the Hyuga she's prohibited from going on missions. So Kakashi-sensei will employ another Hyuga of Hinata's choosing."

Sasuke clicked his tongue, "That's an idiotic rule."

Naruto frowned, "Yeah. You can tell Hinata hates it."

"I don't see why she hasn't changed it yet if she despises it so much."

Naruto scratched his cheek, "I don't think it's that easy Sasuke…"

"Hinata got rid of the branch seal. She's capable enough to accomplish anything within that clan," he spat out.

Naruto smiled, taken aback by Sasuke's sudden reaction to it. It was true though, Hinata was clever and knew how to work around the dealings of the Hyuga clan. Despite her sometimes meek disposition, Hinata was strong and above all was always determined. It had taken her long to get the approval of the removal of the branch seal. But she had **_done _**it. Hinata had accomplished it.

"You sound very confident of Hinata."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, as he lifted his cup of coffee to his lips.

"Of course I am, Hinata is – "

Sasuke paused in the midst of his sentence. Naruto watched as surprise registered in Sasuke's eyes. Whatever, the ex-avenger had planned to say, it was most likely in praise of Hinata. Naruto smirked, chuckling to himself lightly.

_He's embarrassed._

"Ne, Sasuke, why don't you ask her to be your girlfriend?"

Sasuke glared at Naruto as he placed his cup of coffee down. If Naruto was not accustomed to Sasuke's intense glares, his whole body may have shaken in fright.

"Don't be stupid."

"Hmm… I don't see why not. You both like each other. I'm pretty sure that you lo-"

Naruto jumped, letting out a small shriek as he felt Sasuke kick him hard under the table.

Naruto pouted, "Not a fan of labels? It could ward off the suitors though. Don't be mistaken, Hinata's pretty popular dattebayo."

"I know," Sasuke growled. He then sighed, "It's just…"

Naruto raised his eyebrow. He had seen Sasuke in despair, full of hate, lost, happy, and smug and a variety of emotions most were not privileged to. And now, he witnessed an emotion Sasuke had once discarded. An emotion that had become a blessing to both Sasuke and himself. Naruto was sure that Hinata was the one for Sasuke. Perhaps in another universe, his life with Hinata worked out. But in this universe, she and Sasuke were destined to be together. Naruto could see it and he could **_feel _**it. He had always wanted for Sasuke to be in love. To find someone he would cherish. If the woman wasn't Sakura, Naruto was positive that there was another woman out there. And if so, it happened to be Hinata, Naruto would not complain. Hinata and he were over. The two had mutually agreed to split, it was for the best. A small part of him would always long for her. She owned a part of his heart. That would always remain the same. One could never forget their first love.  
As he stared at his best friend, lost in his own thoughts and emotions, it dawned on him why Sasuke was so lost.

"You don't know how to ask."

Xx

**I hope the kiss scene was okay? I wrote this chapter almost a month ago and even now I'm not completely satisfied with it (might be me and my low confidence ha ha) **

**So I hope you all enjoyed it. I can't wait for their relationship to develop even more!**

**Ps. I'm going to be extremely busy these upcoming weeks and month with school and uni applications. So I'm not sure how long it will be til the next update. I'm terribly sorry but I promise this story will not be abandoned.**

**Thank you for reading and until next time. xxx**

**(please review! x)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Firstly, I am deeply sorry that it has been more than half a year since I last updated. It's been such a long ride emotionally and physically since the last time I updated to this point now. **

**Thank you to all the people who still read this and are interested. I'm so thankful. **

**Believe it or not, this chapter took me months to write. It was frustrating and tiring but I'm glad that I'm getting back into the groove. It's a short chapter as I have been struggling with many things and even the worst - writers block. **

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

**Chapter 18:**

Sasuke's jaw tightened the moment Naruto had discovered his dilemma. It seemed foolish that he was unable to ask a woman out. At a young age Sasuke had been deemed a prodigy. He was talented, smart and through the years his prowess had grown significantly. It would only take the mere mention of his name to strike fear within his enemies. There were even some who were frightened the moment Sasuke would activate his mismatching eyes. Yet, when it came to Hinata, it was **_he_** whom was frightened. The idea of Hinata and himself in a relationship perplexed him to his core. Sasuke was simply confused inH

dumdudddon how to go about it all. He had no experience when it came to women. It had always been the women attempting to woo Sasuke. Now, the tables had turned. Sasuke **_wanted _**Hinata's attention. He wanted it all. She was enticing and never had he ever felt this way about a woman. It had been difficult for Sasuke to pinpoint how much Hinata had really felt for him. The way she behaved around him was different from the way Hinata behaved around Naruto. It was this difference which would send Sasuke's mind into chaos. After last night though, Sasuke was positive that Hinata's feelings towards him were pure. He doubted it in the earlier stages because he was aware that she was still healing with the ordeal with Naruto. He doubted it because her mannerisms that he witnessed when she was in love with Naruto did not appear when she spent time with him. It was his doubt that held him back from kissing her for so long. He had to be sure that Hinata wanted to be with him as much as he wanted to be with her. _It's her or no one._

"Hello? Earth to Sasuke?" Naruto asked as he waved his hands in front of Sasuke's eyes.

Sasuke blinked, coming back to his senses. He picked up his cup of coffee, drinking it until the cup was empty.

"Are you really okay with it?" Sasuke asked as he placed his cup back down on the table.

Naruto smiled and leaned back into his chair.

"Truthfully, I've always wanted to see this side of you more than anything else."

"Tch. You really like getting into my business don't you?" Sasuke asked with a slight smile.

"You're my brother, dattebayo! I'll always be sticking my nose into your business," Naruto teased.

"Aa. Is it necessary this time though?" He asked.

Naruto smiled as he scratched his cheek. He laughed to himself and then sat up. Naruto leaned forward into the table with his elbows resting against it.

"Sasuke, knowing Hinata she won't mind how you ask her out. You probably can't see it. But the way she looks at you, it's the way she used to look at me. So don't worry too much, ne?"

Sasuke closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief.

_Thank you, Naruto._

Xxx

Hanabi giggled to herself as she walked out of a particular store with a bag of shopping that contained a present for Hinata. Tomorrow, it would be her Onee-san's 20th birthday. The Hyuga clan were planning a big celebration of course. Hanabi had checked the guest list numerous of times and had seen all of her sister's friends in attendance except for one name.

_Uchiha Sasuke_

He had been absent for some time due to a mission, so she had heard from Hinata. It was probably the reason why he his name was not down on the list of attendants. Even so though, Hanabi thought it was only right that her Onee-san's boyfriend should attend as well. Suddenly, Hanabi stopped in her tracks and gasped.

_What if he doesn't know its Hinata's birthday tomorrow?_

Hanabi shook her head. _No, I'm sure he knows. He would be a bigger idiot than Naruto-kun to not know its Hinata's birthday tomorrow._

With that thought in mind, Hanabi happily continued to make her way home. That was until she spotted Sasuke coming out of a café with Naruto.

"Uchiha-san!" She exclaimed without thinking.

Hanabi ran over to them, bowed and greeted Naruto and Sasuke.

"Ne, Hanabi-chan, why do you look so overly happy seeing Sasuke? I thought I was your favourite," Naruto teased with a pout.

Hanabi smirked, "Who ever said you were my favourite person?"

She heard Sasuke click his tongue before he spoke.

"Enough with this senseless chat. What do you need Hanabi?" Sasuke asked monotonously.

Hanabi frowned. It was in moments like these, she wondered what her sister saw in Sasuke. Sometimes he seemed so dull.

"Do you never use honorifics for anyone?" She asked.

"It's a waste of my time," Sasuke said dryly.

Hanabi raised her eyebrow, "It shows respect Uchiha-san."

"Aa. So what?"

Hanabi gritted her teeth. Before she could retort, Naruto flicked her on the forehead.

"Sasuke's just teasing you Hanabi-chan. What did you need?" Naruto asked, changing the subject.

Hanabi sighed and crossed her arms. "Never mind. Talking with Uchiha-san has made me realise how much time I've wasted… By the way you better be there tomorrow night **_Sasuke_** or else."

She turned on her heels before she could hear a response from the two of them. Little did she know, Sasuke was thoroughly confused on Hanabi's little threat regarding tomorrow night. If Hanabi had stayed long, she would have heard the question she dreaded to hear.

"What's tomorrow night?"

Xx

Hinata sat in the chair, sitting up straight and firm. The maids worked on her as if she was an exquisite piece of art. One maid worked on her feet, scrubbing and cleaning them. Hinata had to keep herself from letting out a giggle. Little did anyone know – excluding Hanabi and Naruto – Hinata was quite ticklish when it came to her feet. Another maid was giving her a manicure. Filing her nails until the shape was to the uttermost perfection.

"Hinata-sama," the maid giving her a pedicure called out, "what colour shall I paint your toes?"

Hinata pursued her lips, "Hm. I suppose a colour that would match my yukata?"

Hinata turned her head to the two other maids who had a rack set out with the finest yukata's the Hyuga clan could get their hands on. She had still yet to choose which yukata she would wear for tomorrow night.

"Hinata-sama, we've selected the following yukata's based on your preferences and style. The elders have also agreed with the following selections. The final decision will be yours, Hinata-sama."

Hinata nodded, eyeing each yukata thoroughly. Her normal colour scheme involved purple or lavender colours. However, for tomorrow night she wanted it to be a little different. Hinata had four choices. There was a red, blue, lavender and a white yukata. She pursed her lips, unsure of which yukata should she choose. Hinata had worn red and lavender yukata's previously for such events already. So she was left with the either the choice between the blue or the white yukata.

_I don't really like the colour of dark blue on myself…_

"May I see the white yukata?" Hinata asked.

"Certainly, Hinata-sama," the maids said.

One of the maids took it off the rack and held it out for Hinata to see. Hinata eyed the yukata up and down, taking in all the detail the yukata had to offer. She could tell it was made of the finest silk available. The pattern above the hem of the yukata was quite simple but magnificent at the same time. There was light shade of pink where some flowers were beautifully sewn to decorate the yukata. The roots of the flowers were white and travelled around the hem of the yukata.

Hinata smiled, "This is the one."

"Then, shall we paint your nails a light shade of pink, Hinata-sama? It will match well with Hinata-sama's yukata," the maid giving her a manicure suggested.

"Yes, I'd like that," Hinata agreed.

Xxxx

"Huh!?" Naruto exclaimed, "You didn't know it was Hinata's – "

Sasuke clamped Naruto's mouth shut with his hand before anyone else could hear. He instantly regretted the decision when he felt Naruto lick his hand and the disgusting feeling of slobber on his hand. Sasuke gritted his teeth, immediately removing his hand from Naruto's mouth.

"No need to shout Naruto… I just never got round to asking her," Sasuke explained.

Naruto shook his head, "Teme, you must be an even bigger idiot than me."

"That's the last thing I ever want to hear from your mouth," Sasuke retorted.

Sasuke sighed, he had less than a day to get a present for Hinata. Moreover, he had no idea exactly what to get her. Naruto patted Sasuke on the shoulder, nodding his head in a contemplative manner.

"Don't worry Sasuke, you'll think of something good. Use that brain of yours for something romantic."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow, as he turned to face Naruto. _Romantic? _

Naruto simply grinned, "You heard me Sasuke, **_romantic._**"

Xxx

Hinata yawned, placing the scroll she was reading down on the table. She raised her arms above her head, joined her hands together and stretched. It had been a long day for Hinata. Besides being pampered for her birthday tomorrow, Hinata still had to attend to her duties as the Head. Hinata let her arms fall back down to her sides, letting out a sigh. She blinked a few times as she stared at the pile of scrolls beside her. Somehow, she had managed to read all of the scrolls. Majority of the scrolls where necessary to read. They included the management of the Hyuga household, the funds, the dealings and such that were made. The other scrolls where mainly background information on the people or clans the Hyuga's deal with or general knowledge that piped Hinata's interest. Hinata found knowledge to be just as powerful as brute strength. Thus, she built on her knowledge consistently.  
Hinata smiled, proud of what she had accomplished today. She stood up and made her way to her dressing table. Hinata undid her hair from a bun, letting it fall. She brushed through her hair with a brush and with her fingers. Hinata blinked a few times as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. _Is that a shadow of a person on my window? _Hinata turned to face the window. She pursued her lips. _There's nothing but the trees…Must be my imagination. _Hinata sighed, thinking perhaps she had overworked herself today. She turned back towards the mirror, continuing her process of brushing. Her eyes popped as she saw the shadow again in the mirror. Hinata spun around quickly to catch whoever it was sneaking around her window.

"Sasuke!?" She exclaimed quietly as he opened her window and climbed right inside to her room.

Sasuke ran his hand through his hair shaking the snow off. He looked up at Hinata, giving her a warm smile.

"You should lock your window Hinata."

Hinata smiled, she placed her brush down and walked over to Sasuke. Sasuke towered over her so much that when she looked up all her focus was on him. He tilted his head to look down towards her. Hinata wrapped her arms around his waist, burying herself into his chest as much as she could. Sasuke slowly lifted his arms behind her, gently placing them on her back.

"Tomorrow, will you make some time for me?" Sasuke whispered.

"I suppose that would be possible," she replied, "what do you have in mind?"

"Tomorrow night, just wait and I'll give you the signal. You'll know what it is at the time."

"Okay."

Sasuke and Hinata stepped apart from one another. Hinata grabbed Sasuke's hand and lead him towards her bed. They sat beside one another, whilst Hinata massaged his hand.

"Ne, Sasuke. Don't you feel lonely at night?"

"Why do you think I come here?"

Hinata pursued her lips at his reply. Sasuke smirked, giving her hands a squeeze.

"Being lonely was something I adapted to. Yet, after getting to know you it became quite annoying," he confessed.

"I'm not sure if that's a compliment or an insult," she teased.

Sasuke continued to play with Hinata's hands, "You've become a bad habit Hyuga Hinata."

"Nani?"

Sasuke stopped fiddling with her hands. She looked at Sasuke in the eyes, tilting her head at him. He looked back at her with such passion radiating through his black eyes. Hinata leaned forward, keeping her eyes glued to his.

"It's just like mine," she noted as she peered into his eyes, "I can't see your iris."

"Hn."

She smiled as Sasuke's eyes changed to a sharigan and rinnegan. She brought one hand to caress Sasuke's cheek. He leaned into it, whilst continuing to gaze at her.

"These eyes as well," she nodded her head, "they are just as remarkable and beautiful."

She felt Sasuke chuckle slightly. He closed his eyes and leaned his head against hers. Their foreheads resting against one another.

"I've never had anyone call them that. You're quite strange Hinata… I'm glad."

xxx

**Thanks for reading! Not sure when I'll be able to update next since I'm starting university in a few weeks but stay tuned! I will see this story to its end. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello ! I'm back with another update. I'm onto my second week of uni and it's already been so busy. Unfortunately, that means I won't be updating as much. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, not much of Sasuke and Hinata together but I promise you in the next chapter there will be!**

**Chapter 19:**

Hinata giggled at Sasuke's revelation. She moved her hands to the back of his head, running her hands through his soft black hair. Momentarily, Hinata pecked Sasuke's eyelids, causing him to open his eyes. He was greeted with a sincere smile.

"Sasuke… will you stay the night?" She asked shyly.

Sasuke was caught off guard, the surprise evident on his face as Hinata immediately blushed and began to stutter through an apology. He smirked at her embarrassment.

"You're too cute," he whispered.

Before Hinata could respond, Sasuke had embraced Hinata. He leaned his head on her shoulder, letting out a sigh. His breath tickled her skin.

"Is this what you want?" He asked.

Hinata glanced at him from the corner of her eyes. She tried to decipher the meaning of his question by analysing his body language. Hinata smiled at the realisation of what his question really meant.

"You're warm," she noted.

She leaned closer in to him. Her hands making its way down to his broad and muscly back. Hinata began to draw circles on his back.

"You're important too," she added.

She let out a soft moan as Sasuke kissed her shoulder making his way up to her jawline.

"I want you to be happy," he whispered before trailing back down to her shoulder with kisses.

She pulled Sasuke into a deep embrace, playing with the back of his hair.

"Sasuke, these past few months I've regained a part of myself I thought I lost. Sure, both of us bickered and it was difficult but… I'm really thankful – for you."

Sasuke scoffed, "You were very troubling…but I was always intrigued by you. Even during those four months we attempted to ignore one another."

"That was silly, especially that tomato incident," she reminisced.

Sasuke let out a faint laugh and agreed with her. He pulled away from her and sat up straight again. Hinata blushed at the intensity of his gaze. _I can see and feel his warmth. His kindness and passion, I can see it. _ She wondered how all this time she could keep herself in line from being intimate with Sasuke.  
It had been so long since she had felt this way. The time she spent with Naruto romantically was intense both emotionally and physically. Naruto was her first love. Hinata never knew if she could feel something so intense once again. She cherished her love for Naruto but it had also drained her. The difficulties of their relationship had been too much for her. Thus, Hinata questioned whether she would have the strength to be in a relationship again. Yet, here she was again. _In love? In a relationship? _She wasn't sure. Her feelings for Sasuke were genuine and intense. Her heart ached to always see him. They were both busy people. People who had important roles in the village. Despite this, Sasuke **_always _**made time to see her.

"I'll stay," Sasuke said.

Hinata beamed, _perhaps I do know the answer. _

Xxxx

Sasuke smiled to himself as he watched Hinata sleeping beside him peacefully. His fingers lingered through her silky indigo hair as she mumbled a few incoherent words. He propped himself up and gazed out the window. It was dawn and he was prepared to leave soon. Sasuke turned back to face Hinata, shaking her gently in order to wake her up. She stirred before letting out a yawn. He watched as Hinata opened her eyes drowsily.

"Morning," he greeted.

"Sasuke," she murmured.

He smiled, realising that Hinata was still a little sleepy. He was glad he could see her in this state. _It's cute._

"I'm leaving now Hinata," he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead, "go back to sleep, okay?"

"Mhm," she responded before closing her eyes once more.

Sasuke stood up and prepared to leave. He collected his belongings and made his way to the window. He did a quick scan before opening the window. Sasuke paused midway through exiting, turning to face Hinata's sleeping body.

"Happy birthday, hime."

xx

Hinata winced as she felt the sunlight strike her face. She grumbled, realising it was time to get up as she peered at the sunrise from her window. However, as it was her birthday, she had the luxury of sleeping in. Yet, it seemed her body clock had other ideas. Hinata stretched her arm over to the place where Sasuke was a few hours ago. She smiled to herself. _The bed's still warm. _She rolled over to his side, hoping there were still some other traces of Sasuke left. Her assumption was correct as she caught of whiff of his scent lingering on the pillow. She smelt mint – it was light and mixed with a tint of ash and thunder. No matter the amount of baths Sasuke took, his mint scented soap could never wash away his elemental chakra. Hinata giggled to herself. Just the scent of Sasuke was pungent enough for Hinata to close her eyes once more. On any other day, she would be up by now. Hinata felt like it had been a decade since she had relaxed like this. She breathed in his scent again, falling under its sweet spell. Before she was aware of it, Hinata had drifted back to sleep.

Xx

Hanabi grinned as she watched the Hyuga servants make the final touches on the decorations for her Onee-san's 20th birthday. Hanabi had spent all morning assisting the servants in order for everything to be perfect. Suddenly, her stomach grumbled. _Lunch time! _She clapped her hands together, deciding that now would be the perfect time to give Hinata her birthday present over some lunch. Hanabi turned to leave, only to get called out by a servant.

"Pardon the intrusion Hanabi-sama," the servant bowed, "your Grandfather requests for your presence."

Hanabi raised her eyebrow. _I wonder what Grandfather wants? _

"Very well. Is Grandfather in his living quarters?" She asked.

"Yes, he is awaiting your presence."

Hanabi nodded, following the servant to her Grandfather's living quarters. It was rare that she ever visited these parts of the Hyuga household. She saw her Grandfather everyday but she hardly ever went to his private area. It was only in particular circumstances that called for such privacy. The last time her Grandfather had called for her was when Hinata was chosen to be the Hyuga Head. It was known that Hanabi's late father had trained Hanabi with the intention of being Head. However, his will declared that Hinata was to be the Head until further notice. At that time, Hanabi was unsure of what 'further notice' implied. She had wondered for a long time whether her Father had another will or there was some sort of clause in the will that ensured Hinata wouldn't always be the Head. Exasperated by all of it, she had questioned her Grandfather about it. His reply at the time was simply this: "Your Otousan lacked the ability to see Hinata's full potential. Albeit, we all made that same mistake. Your Otousan amended his will for Hinata to succeed the position of Head during Pein's invasion. He only informed me and no one else of these changes. He continued to train you, as you also have a strong potential to lead this clan. However, you're still young Hanabi. You lack the experience that Hinata has. War changes a person Hanabi. During this era of peace I doubt and sincerely hope you will not experience the petrifying horrors of it… Your sister will amend the foundations of this clan into something greater. Neither, your Otousan or I were able to do that. Hanabi, if you wish to have the position of Head, your father has given permission in his will for you to challenge Hinata when you are of age. That is all I have to say to you."

Hanabi smiled to herself as she recalled that memory. It was the first time she had heard one of the Hyuga elders speak so highly of Hinata. It had made her proud. Hanabi had always known that Hinata was admirable and exceptional. Hanabi really treasured her One-san.

Before she knew it, Hanabi was at her Grandfather's door. She knocked, waiting for his command to let her come in. The moment she heard it, she slid the doors open and bowed. Hanabi walked in only to let out a gasp when she realised who else was in the room with her.

Xxx

Hinata finally awoke due to her stomach's insistency that she eat as soon as possible. She stretched her body as she got out of bed, letting out a giggle. _I'm twenty! _Once stretching all her muscles, Hinata made her way to the bathroom. She undressed, letting her clothes fall down to her feet. She kicked them towards the door, deciding to be a little lazy just this once. _The maids do say they hardly have much work to do when it comes to me. _She smiled to herself as she pulled the hair tie out of her hair. Hinata ran her fingers through it. She opened her mouth at a sudden realisation. The way Sasuke ran his fingers through her hair gave her a much greater sensation. _Perhaps, it's truly only nice when Sasuke does it? _Hinata turned the knobs of the shower, waiting for the hot water to come on. She showered whilst thinking that physical care was very intimate and nice. It was something Sasuke and herself shared. After all, she too also enjoyed running her fingers through his raven hair. _Maybe, I'll offer to cut it some time? It is getting quite long at the front. _

Hinata dried herself once stepping out of the shower. She bit her lip as she peered at her clothes lying on the floor. Hinata sighed, as she bent down and picked them up to toss them in her laundry basket.  
She dressed in suitable clothes for the afternoon. Her attire consisted of a buttoned up shirt and a flowy skirt. It would make things easier for tonight when she would need to change into her yukata after the maids did her hair. As Hinata opened her door, she found her younger sister just about to knock. Hanabi beamed at the sight of Hinata.

"Happy birthday!" She squealed, jumping onto Hinata.

Hinata hugged Hanabi back, thanking her.

"I was just about to come get you Onee-san! Let's go eat now, we've got a feast to attend!" She called out as she pulled Hinata towards to the dining area.

"A feast?"

"Yup! Prepared by yours truly," Hanabi grinned as she gestured towards herself.

Hinata laughed, her sister was truly an amusing and wonderful child. Hinata followed Hanabi into the dining area where only two plates were set up. Hanabi caught on to Hinata's confusion.

"I just wanted to spend some time with just you today. After all, either the elders of Sasuke hog you majority of the time," she teased.

Hinata blushed, throwing her hands in front of her face. She attempted to deny it but Hanabi only laughed. Hinata pouted as she sat in her seat. It would be pointless to argue with Hanabi. Hanabi grinned as she placed the dishes on the table.

"Zenzai and cinnamon rolls?" Hinata questioned in disbelief.

"Mhmm! You're two favourite dishes. Probably not lunch appropriate but I think tonight's dinner will have enough appropriate foods, ne?"

Hinata smiled, "Thanks Hanabi. You've gotten quite talented at cooking."

Hanabi blushed and scratched her cheek at the compliment.

"Ah!" Hanabi exclaimed, "Before I forget… here's your present Onee-san."

Hanabi reached from below the table and pulled out a wrapped up present. She grinned as she handed it over to Hinata.

"It really seems like fate was on my side when I chose this, Onee-san."

Hinata raised her eyebrow at her sister. _What on earth could that possibly mean? Knowing Hanabi, it could be anything. _She shook her head, deciding to ignore what that statement implicated. Hinata tore the wrapping and began to open the present. She stopped the moment she saw something lacy.

"Hanabi…is this?"

Hanabi laughed, "Yep!"

Hinata blushed, as she tore open the rest of the wrapping. She turned to see if anyone else was in the room before bringing the lingerie out. It was a once piece, high legged lingerie. The top half of the piece was a long v shaped that stopped just above the belly button by the looks of it. _Though, it could hardly be considered a v line. _It was a black lace that was very soft at the touch. The back was strappy, less detailed than the front. She stared at the front again. _I'm not sure if this can even hold my breasts. Though, it's still very lovely. _

"So what do you think?" Hanabi asked in a smug tone.

"I really like it," Hinata whispered in hopes no one else heard her, "though I'm not sure if it can really support you know…"

Hanabi shrugged, "It's not like it will be on for long. If Sasuke saw you on that, I'm sure it would be on the ground in seconds."

"Hanabi! It's not – I – I-"

Her sister only laughed at Hinata's embarrassed state. "Sheesh, no need to hide it from Onee-san. I'm not a baby, you know. Plus, trust me – you'll be needing this real soon."

Hinata raised her eyebrow, _again with the strange implications._ Before she could ask, Hanabi clapped her hands together, declaring that they start since she was very hungry. Hinata sighed, deciding to let it go again. After all, she too was quite famished.

xx

**Thanks for reading, please review! I really appreciate the feedback. Hopefully, another update comes soon.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hello, I'm back with another update! Hope everyone had a great Easter. I've been insanely busy with uni, that I'm surprised I managed to get this chapter done (I guess writing SasuHina is just too tempting!)**

**Hope you enjoy it!**

**Chapter 20:**

The rest of the day had quickly passed and the next thing Hinata knew she was being dressed for her birthday party tonight. The maids gushed about how **_beautiful _**Hinata had looked non-stop as they styled her hair and did Hinata's make-up. Hinata laughed off their compliments, insisting that it was thanks to the Hyuga maids that she could look like she did tonight. However, the maids were just as stubborn as Hinata, claiming that it was all Hinata's doing. She was a natural beauty and their styling and make-up only glamorised her beauty even further. Hinata saw the argument was futile, letting the maids do as they pleased with the condition that Hinata's look was minimal and nothing over the top. The maids understood her request, ensuring Hinata that they were aware of the Hyuga Head's personal style.

"Hinata-sama, we're finished!" Squealed one of the maids.

Hinata's eyes widened as she glanced at her reflection in the mirror. She brought a hand to her cheek, awed at the styling of the Hyuga maids. _Is this really me? _It was a rarity that Hinata ever indulged in make-up. The last time had been during her inauguration as the Head of the clan. However, the elders had requested her make-up to be quite heavy – it had made her look much older than she was. It had been very uncomfortable. Yet, as Hinata stared at herself and admired the art orchestrated by the maids she was baffled out how comfortable she felt wearing it. Her foundation and contour had been done so well Hinata could hardly tell it was there! She smiled appreciating her lips that were tinted with a light shade of pink. It matched with her nails and yukata design. Lastly, her white eyes were emphasised with a winged eyeliner and some mascara.

Hinata turned to face the maids, "The make-up is wonderful, thank you!"

"The pleasure is ours, Hinata-sama… and the hair? Does Hinata-sama like it?"

Hinata smiled as she looked at her hair. It was tied up in a high, sleek pony tail. It was simple but elegant she mused.

"It's lovely as well. You all did great," she acknowledged.

Pleased with their accomplishments, the maids moved on to the next thing – helping Hinata put on the yukata.

Xxx

Naruto sighed as he grabbed another drink from the waiter. The night had only begun but he had felt like he had been here for hours. _I wonder when Sasuke will rock up…_

"Naruto, any more of those and you'll be a mess before the night **_really _**begins," said Kiba as he approached Naruto.

"I'm fine, Kiba."

Naruto watched from the corner of his eyes as Kiba observed him. _He's not pitying me is he?_

"I'm not doing this," he motioned to his third drink, "because of Hinata. It's because all these people I don't know keep coming up to me to ask a bunch of questions. I came here as friend dattebayo, not as a special guest."

Kiba chuckled, "Well you **_are _**the hero of the war Naruto. Everyone wants to say they're friends with Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto rolled his eyes as he sipped on his beverage. "I'm fine with that but it's… personal questions…about you know…"

Kiba raised his eye brow and moved closer to Naruto so their conversation was more private.

"They're asking about you and Hinata?" He whispered in a serious tone.

Naruto nodded, "It's getting a little irritating I'll admit."

Kiba scowled, "Damn diplomats. They probably wanna know if Hinata's available for their pampered sons."

"Mmmhm," Naruto agreed, "you can see their eyes light up at the possibility… I don't like it –"

"Kiba! Naruto!" A voice yelled out, pulling the two out of their serious conversation.

The two turned their heads to see Ino approaching them, she smiled once she stood before them.

"I'm interrupting aren't I?" She asked.

The two nodded and Ino simply shrugged, "Well too bad, let me join in. Some pompous man and a Hyuga elder stole Hinata-chan away from me."

"And you didn't think to stay with her?" Kiba asked.

Ino pressed her lips together, "Hinata-chan can look after herself. She's not weak Kiba. Should I remind you kunoichi can be just as powerful?"

Kiba darted his eyes from his girlfriend letting out an awkward laugh. Naruto chuckled at his two companions.

"Ino-chan, you take the reins in the relationship, don't ya?" He teased looking mischievously at Kiba.

"Well somebody has to," she giggled as she pat Kiba on the head.

Naruto smiled, taking a sip of his drink as Ino's light giggles faded away.

"So," she asked in a serious tone, "why are you two acting all serious over here? The rest of us are all having a good time but you two look pretty annoyed…"

"The guests the Hyuga elders invited have been bugging me all night about Hinata and me," Naruto admitted.

Ino raised her eyebrow in confusion before realisation hit her. She pursed her lips, glancing back towards the direction she had come from.

"A couple of young men have also asked Ten-ten, Sakura and me about Hinata-chan as well… It seems they're all interested in courting Hinata-chan."

Kiba growled, "Those damn –"

Ino placed her hand on his shoulders, "We girls gave them basic information. Plus, we all know Hinata-chan wouldn't be interested in the slightest… right, Naruto?"

Naruto chugged down the rest of his drink. Once it was empty he glanced at Ino and Kiba who awaited for his reply.

"She's not interested in me… but the teme she is into better turn up soon."

"So the rumour is true!?" Ino exclaimed.

Before Naruto could answer, he grinned at the couple before disappearing with a poof!

"A shadow clone?!"

Xxx

Hinata stiffened as the man the Hyuga elder introduced to her grabbed her hand and kept a tight grip on it. She plastered on a fake smile as he introduced himself. Truthfully, Hinata could not care less. She had already greeted all her friends and family. However, it was now that the elders wanted to introduce her to some potential husbands. She grimaced in the inside as the man brought his lips to her hand. _Where is Sasuke? I haven't seen him at all tonight…_

"You're as beautiful as your name, Hinata-sama," the man confessed.

Hinata thanked him, not bothering to make conversation much to the elder's annoyance. Suddenly, she saw her grandfather and Sasuke over the man's shoulder walking together. _What on earth are they doing together? _Her eyes met with Sasuke and she saw him lower his eyebrows and squint. His gaze turned to her hand which was still being held by the man. Hinata jumped back, removing her hand immediately from the man's hold as she saw Sasuke scowl.

Hinata greeted her grandfather and Sasuke as they approached. The man sought out to do the same. However, before the man could introduce himself, her grandfather stopped him.

"I believe this meeting is not necessary," he said sternly.

The elder who had accompanied the man raised her eyebrow. She crossed her arms, stepping forward to interject.

"Hinata-sama won't be young forever. This is the perfect opportunity to introduce her to potential husbands. We need to ensure an heir and Kyoshi," she gestured towards the man, "is just –"

"Are you ordering me on how I should raise my granddaughter?"

The elder frowned at her grandfather. "I'm simply advising you that – "

"I will not repeat myself. You," her grandfather locked eyes with Kyoshi, "leave, **_now_**."

Kyoshi was flustered by the whole thing. He bowed and muttered apologises before leaving in haste. Hinata blinked at what had just transpired. _Is this really Grandfather? What is going on?_ Before Hinata or the elder could open their mouths to ask her grandfather about what was going on, he cleared his throat.

"Uchiha-san," he said.

As if it was an order, Sasuke stepped forward. The distance between Hinata and Sasuke seemed to become smaller. She stared back at him and looked into his eyes. She tried to analyse his current state and thoughts. Earlier, he had looked irritated but now his emotions were masked.

"Let us leave, Yakuji," her grandfather ordered.

The elder woman bowed and took her leave with Hinata's grandfather.

Hinata sighed, feeling that the tension in the air had suddenly diminished. She continued to stare into Sasuke's eyes. Once again, she felt like his dark eyes were swooping her into oblivion. It was as if all her worries had disappeared.

"Sasuke… what were you doing with my grandfather?"

"I needed to discuss something important with him."

Hinata tilted her head in confusion. She wondered what the two could have possibly talked about.

Sasuke smiled at her, "You look… good Hinata."

"Oh… thank you," she replied.

Sasuke extended his hand out to her. Hinata smiled happily as she wrapped her hand around his coarse hand. He gently squeezed her hand in return.

"You promised you'd make some time tonight for me, let's go."

Hinata nodded, "Let's go, Sasuke."

Xxx

Hinata and Sasuke walked hand in hand, away from the party to a quieter area. Hinata and Sasuke ignored the whispers of her guests as they saw Hinata guide him to another room. Hinata attempted to hold in her blush as much of the whispers she heard went along the lines of, "So it is true!"  
Hinata slid the door open to a room, which was revealed to be a study. It had been her previous study before she was appointed as the Head. Hence, the room was designed to Hinata's taste. She smiled to herself, remembering all the times she spent hauled up in here reading books about romance. It had felt like a lifetime ago that she was young and foolish and had fantasied about Naruto and yet here she was with Sasuke. Hinata let go of Sasuke's hand to find some matches in order to light the candles in the room. But Sasuke was having none of it as he quickly grabbed her hand, pulling Hinata towards him. Her back collided with his chest. Before she could question what he was planning, Sasuke's free hand was raised above his mouth. He effortlessly let out a fire jutsu, targeting all the candles and lighting them up in an instant. Hinata looked up at him in awe. She was aware of how powerful he was but even Sasuke made a mundane task look astounding. She blushed as Sasuke glanced down at her and smirked.

Hinata shook her head at herself. _Get yourself together! _

"Well, that made things easier," she said as the turned around to face him.

"Hn. So… this is your study?"

"It was. It's just an empty room now," she replied.

"Aa."

Hinata took a step back from Sasuke before she questioned him, "Are you enjoying the party?"

"I'm not really fond of parties," he replied as he let go of her hand.

"Oh, then –"

In a blink of an eye, Sasuke had her pinned against the wall. One arm curved around Hinata's waist, holding her there, whilst the other leaned against the wall. She opened her mouth to say something but was in shock. Hinata had heard Sasuke's speed was insane but this was…

"I'm fond of you," he said huskily, "so I'm here."

Hinata nodded and let out a soft moan as he pressed his lips against her neck. Sasuke kissed down her neck and then back up. He stopped at her jawline.

"Do you remember what I said a while ago… about us?" He asked.

"Depends what situation you're talking about," she teased.

Hinata looked at Sasuke, waiting for him to tease her back. His expression was serious but his eyes had such a soft gaze towards them. Hinata blinked as she realised Sasuke was faintly blushing. Sasuke cleared his throat before speaking.

"It's you… Hinata. The person I want to – no _need _to be with."

Hinata breathed in and breathed out, "Are you saying that…"

He nodded, "I've been given permission to court you Hinata."

Suddenly, it had made sense why Sasuke was with her grandfather earlier. Moreover, Hanabi's joke at lunch seemed to make much more sense. She blushed at the thought of wearing the lingerie for Sasuke. She was pulled out of her thoughts as Sasuke began to caress his hand through her hair.

"I'm not a good person Hinata. I've done a lot of horrible things so I can't promise you much but –"

"No that's not true," she said shaking her head, "you've already given me so much Sasuke. I never thought I could be happy again. But I am and it's because you've helped me. People go down the wrong path all the time, Sasuke. What matters is that you've atoned for your sins and you're here. The Hokage, Sakura-chan and Naruto-kun worked so hard to have you back here. So don't go saying words like that Sasuke. Your existence is just as important as anyone else's."

Sasuke blinked at her, shocked about what she had said. He closed his eyes, letting out a quiet laugh. He drew his forehead to hers, pressing against it lightly.

"Tadaima," he whispered.

Hinata brought her hands to his cheeks, bringing his lips against hers. She planted a soft, chaste kiss on his lips.

"Okaeri, Sasuke."

xxx

**Thank you all for reading! **

**For those who don't know, Tadaima = I'm home and Okaeri = welcome home ( both are informal versions) **

**I'm not sure when the next update will be as I'm going to have to make huge adjustments to what I had planned for the plot and uni is always so busy. So until next time!**

**P.s Please review, would appreciate all the feedback xx**


	21. Chapter 21

**A big thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and all my new favorites and follows! You guys keep me kicking honestly. **

**I can't believe it's already July! I am so sorry for not updating in so long and I'm even more sorry that this chapter is pretty short. **

**I was in a bit of a funk and uni took most of my time. I really enjoyed writing this chapter though and the story is definitely making it's way to the end soon. **

**Unfortunately, no Sasuhina this chapter but I promise they will be in the next! Hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter 21:**

Naruto let out a sigh as he stretched his arms above his head. He glanced outside the windows of his temporary office in the Hokage building. Naruto frowned, it was already night time. He stood up, deciding it to call a day. The endless paperwork could wait for tomorrow. He sometimes wondered if his sensei was being lazy and gave him most of the paperwork rather than do it himself. At this point, it would not surprise him. Naruto made his way out of the building realising that it must have been fairly late as many of the employees were absent. He rubbed his eyes as he made his way down the stairs and eventually out of the building. He placed his hands in his pocket and made his way down the street. Naruto felt tense. The papers he read last troubled him a bit. He was positive Sasuke would not be too fond as well to hear about it. He sighed – _A drink would be nice. _

Xxxx

Sakura made a face as she downed another shot. She never really quite enjoyed shots. Sakura couldn't quite remember how many had it been but the effect she had desired was not coming. Hinata's birthday had only been a few days ago and it was simply magnificent. Sakura enjoyed her time catching up with her friends and celebrating Hinata's birthday. These days all of them were so busy it was hard to find spare time amongst one another. Yet, deep down she despised the jealously she felt towards Hinata. _Oh Kami, I can't believe I'm like this. _Sakura had supported Hinata and Sasuke. In fact, she was **_so_** happy to finally see Sasuke feel peace and happiness. She had no claim over him whatsoever. Sasuke was not obliged to love her in the way she would always love Sasuke. _But why can't I stop loving him? After all this time?_

"Sakura-chan?"

Sakura blinked turning to the familiar voice. She smiled as she saw him.

"Naruto, I'm surprised to see you here."

Sakura patted the bar stool next to her, gesturing Naruto to sit beside her. He made his way and sat beside her.

"I could say the same about you. Long day huh?" He asked.

Sakura nodded her head as Naruto ordered a drink and without asking, he ordered her another shot. He grinned at her sheepishly as if saying _– you could probably use another one. _

"It seems the days just get busier, dattebayo," Naruto mused as he waited for his drink.

"Mmm. Well preparing to be the next Hokage and running a clinic aren't very easy jobs," she teased.

Naruto chuckled and they then began to talk about their lives. Naruto explained all the different rules he could remember on what the Hokage could do and not do. He discussed the books he read and the villages his visited. Sakura smiled sincerely as she listened. She was immensely proud of him – Naruto was close to achieving his dream. As their drinks arrived she downed the shot quickly whilst Naruto took his time. He then began to explain his dreams for the future of Konoha and expanding the clinic Sakura had proposed to other villages as well.  
Sakura then told him about her busy days in the clinic. It wasn't exciting but sometimes the clinic had funny stories that she enjoyed telling him. So she told Naruto about a patient who Sakura had prescribed with eardrops due to an ear ache. The patient had come in again for something else but had told that the medicine had worked but it tasted awful. Naruto snorted, almost spitting out some of his alcohol. Sakura hadn't had the heart to tell the patient that they were called eardrops for a reason.  
She enjoyed talking to Naruto because he listened without interrupting her as she voiced her annoyance at some of the medics making silly mistakes. They talked a bit more and she had also mentioned she was interested in expanding her proposed clinic to other villages.

They sat in silence as Naruto finished his drink, the music in the bar being enough to keep her thoughts occupied – so she thought.

"How do you do it?" Sakura questioned, turning her face towards him.

Naruto placed his glass down and turned towards her. She waited for him to read her expression.

He glanced down as if pondering on how to respond. Naruto peeked back up, his azure eyes full of understanding.

"I… don't know," he confessed silently.

Sakura sighed, "I'm **_really_** trying to not be in love with him still but…"

"Yeah, I know."

"I guess feelings like this take time, ne?"

He opened his mouth but closed it. Sakura wondered what he was going to say. He called for the bartender and ordered two drinks. Naruto turned to face her and she was surprised to see him smiling.

"I think we'll both always love them. There's no point denying it Sakura-chan. Perhaps over time, we'll be in love with other people again. I really can't say for sure. But, Hinata and Sasuke are important people to the both of us. The memories we've had are irreplaceable. All the good and the bad – I'd do it again Sakura-chan. I don't want to regret my time with Sasuke and Hinata."

Sakura was surprised to find herself smiling. Only Naruto could be so moving with his words.

"Bonds like that just can't be discarded so easily," she said.

He let out a small laugh. "Truthfully, I'm really happy for the two. It hurts… but seeing them happy makes up for it I suppose."

Sakura placed her hand over Naruto's giving it a squeeze. All of her memories with Sasuke would be irreplaceable. She had fought tooth and nail for Sasuke to be in Konoha. And she had done it with her best friend. Her feelings for Sasuke were special. Sasuke was special to her. He would always be. Regardless of what would happen in the future, she was so thankful she could call Sasuke family. Sakura knew that Hinata meant **_so _**much to Sasuke. She would never ruin that for her own selfish reasons. She wanted Sasuke to be happy and if being with Hinata made him happy then she was happy.

Their drinks arrived and for the first time tonight, Sakura had felt like some of the weight on her shoulders disappeared.

"Let's toast to it then – to Sasuke and Hinata… and to the happiness that will come our way."

Naruto grinned, lifting his glass to his Sakura's.

"To our family."

Xxx

The Head of the Hyuga clan's birthday celebration was the perfect opportunity to sneak in and get a closer look at the mysterious woman. Uchiha Sasuke was infamous and so his leader had never asked for any information regarding him. However, his leader was interested in whom Uchiha Sasuke spent time with. His other members in his team – Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto were the main people he spent time with. That was not surprising, the Uchiha did not really seem to be a social person. However, he had discovered a few months ago that there was another – Hyuga Hinata, the Head of the Hyuga clan. That had certainly piqued his interest and his leader's interest. Thus, he spent his time trying to gather as much information as possible. However, it was difficult when the woman in question spent most of her time in the Hyuga household or at the Uchiha household. It was simply too dangerous to come too close to both households. He was not stupid.  
So far the information he had gathered of her was easy enough to deduce whom she was. She did not appear to be a fighter but she was not the Head for nothing. He was aware that she was seeing Uzuamki Naruto but it was strongly implied from the village's gossip she was now seeing Uchiha Sasuke. However, he needed the confirmation and her birthday party confirmed all his suspicions. And it seemed that he was also courting her.

He grinned as he made his way back to the base of operations. His leader would be pleased that their plans to take something precious from Uchiha Sasuke would work. Uchiha Sasuke destroyed the majority of their forces. It was only fair they too destroyed something of his.

xxx

**Thank you for reading. Any feedback would be wonderful! **


	22. Chapter 22

**I'm incredibly sorry that it's been a like a billion years since I updated and even then, I still have some mixed feelings about this chapter. Nonetheless, I can't rack out anything out of my brain but I really so desperately wanted to update... so here I am.**

**I finished my first year of Uni a few weeks ago, so hopefully I can update more regularly now. Also wanted to thank everyone for all the wonderful reviews from last chapter, all the new follows ect. I'm still amazed this story manages to get views tbh. Anyway, enjoy the chapter !**

**Chapter 22:**

"Ah! Sasuke, that hurts!" Hinata whined.

Sasuke scoffed, "You'd think the pretty Hyuga head would brush her hair properly."

Hinata pouted as she continued to let Sasuke brush the knots out of her hair. Sasuke chuckled as he saw her sulk. He had originally just been combing his hands through her hair but once he realised she had a few knots, he had insisted on brushing Hinata's hair for her.

"Would you rather the maids do it for you?" He asked.

Hinata shook her head, "I'm fine with you doing it Sasuke. It's just... I'm a little embarrassed to have you do something like this."

Sasuke placed the hair brush down and moved forward to rest his head on her shoulders. He smiled as he felt Hinata jump in surprise.

"Let me do this for you," he whispered into her ear, "I can't offer you much but I'd like to do many things for you."

"Alright," she murmured, "I'd like to do the same."

He smiled, giving her a light kiss on her neck. He moved back and grabbed the hair brush to resume his grooming. It had only been about two weeks since he began officially courting Hinata. It had made spending time with her much easier. No longer did they both have to worry about the Hyuga elders questioning Hinata's every move in relation to Sasuke. It also helped that Naruto had Sasuke posted in the village rather than working outside the village. The days he spent with Hinata would pass by without him realising. His favourite days would be when Hinata would read to him. Her soft voice would soothe his worries and grant him warmth he never knew he was craving till she spoke. His other favourite days would involve him cooking and Hinata trying all his dishes. She had always insisted that there was no need for him to always do the cooking but he simply told her he **_wanted _**to. He hadn't cooked for anyone but himself all these years. It was an interesting feeling he got as he watched her eat his food and savour in the taste. Other days they spent sparring, where Sasuke practiced against her byakugan and gave her tips on her technique. He had recently discovered she had a chakra affinity for fire and lightning. They had slowly been working on that together much to Hinata's excitement. And of course there were days like this, where the two would lay around just basking in one another's presence. Perhaps every day he spent with her he favoured. Sasuke would always be a little sad when it was time for them to go their separate ways. _Soon there'll be no need to. _He smiled, eager for the day they could live together.

"There we go, all done."

Hinata turned to face him, running her hands through her hair. "Hmm… maybe I should just hire you to brush my hair."

Sasuke scoffed and flicked her forehead, "Maybe you should just brush it properly."

Hinata stuck out her tongue unable to come up with a retort. She began to stand up but Sasuke quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled Hinata towards him. She stumbled and fell upon him.

"Ah. You're heavy hime," he teased.

"You're the one who keeps feeding me," Hinata replied as she tried to sit up.

"It's not a bad thing," he murmured as he pulled Hinata down again, "let's stay like this for a bit."

Hinata agreed, resting her head onto his chest as his arms wrapped around her.

"Do I still make you nervous?" She asked as she listened to his beating heart.

"Always."

"Even when we disliked one another?"

"I didn't realise it then but yeah… I've become like this thanks to you Hinata."

"It's not a bad thing," she whispered looking up to meet his eyes.

Sasuke met her eyes and smiled. He would never tire of seeing her lavender eyes that glistened as she spoke to him. He sat them both up, keeping his arms wrapped tightly around her.

"Hinata," he purred as he kissed her on the lips.

She hummed in response, deepening the kiss as she wrapped her hands behind Sasuke's head. Sasuke began to kiss her jawline, making his way down to her neck. She moaned in response as he reached her collarbones, her nails digging into his back pulling him as close as possible to her. Sasuke let out a shaky breath, deciding he'd need to stop before it got any further. He sighed kissing back up her neck and finally planting a soft kiss on her lips.

Sasuke cleared his throat, "We should get going now. We've got that meeting with Naruto still."

Xxx

Naruto sighed as he rubbed his temples. Helping out the current Hokage with paperwork was stressful, he could only imagine how much worse it got when he would actually be Hokage. He stood up from his chair to stretch. Despite all the paperwork, his dream would still not change though. Being the Hokage was something he had dreamt about since forever. He was so close now. Naruto nodded his head. _As long as Sasuke doesn't kill me in this meeting, I'll be Hokage before I know it!_

Naruto flicked his head to the door as he heard a knock. He glanced at the clock realising it was time for his dreaded meeting. He sat down and called for them to come in. Sasuke was the first to walk through the door, followed by Hinata. He did his best to put on a smile as he watched them steal glances at one another as they came in. He would be lying if he said he was over Hinata. He had simply learnt to adjust to their relationship.

He cleared his throat and began to speak, "Thanks for coming. You're probably wondering what this –"

"Just spit it out dobe. You made it seem pretty urgent."

Naruto nodded his head. _Sasuke's right rambling will not be helpful._

"Hinata, have the Hyuga elders discussed with you the treaty between the Hyuga clan and the Cloud?"

"Yes, the treaty is signed every three years between us. Why? If I remember correctly it isn't time for the renewal to occur," she replied.

Naruto nodded, "Since the five villages recently came together in the war. The Cloud have decided to make some changes to it… with your permission of course."

"Changes? What changes exactly? War or not, the Cloud have always sought out for our byakugan."

"Hinata has a point, Naruto. Peace between all villages can't simply just happen so suddenly," Sasuke said.

"It isn't sudden… It's already been two years since the war. We're in times of peace and change –"

"The last time the Cloud acted civil, they used it as an excuse to kidnap me. Naruto… you know how much that incident affected my clan. I'm sorry but I refuse to take any risks and I can assure you the elders feel the same way."

Naruto sighed, he understood where Hinata came from. "Look, I understand but it's important for us to keep ourselves on friendly terms. You're welcome to negotiate with the Cloud as well Hinata."

He watched as Hinata and Sasuke looked at each other as if they were having a private conversation in their minds. In fact, it wouldn't surprise him if Sasuke was capable of pulling off a technique like that.

"When will they be coming?" Hinata asked as she turned back to face him.

Naruto scratched his cheek, "Uh… That's the thing, they're asking for you to go the Cloud village instead."

"Are you insane Naruto?" Sasuke seethed, "What if something happens to her?"

"Hinata's not weak and she won't travel alone of course."

"I'm quite aware that she can take care of herself. That isn't my point though –"

"Sasuke," Naruto interrupted, "I want you to escort Hinata."

Hinata sighed, "When will the Cloud be expecting us then?"

"Are you seriously considering this Hinata?" Sasuke asked.

"Naruto's right… it's important to keep our diplomatic relations. I'll go and see what changes they want to make and make any negotiations as I see fit."

Sasuke sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Fine… but it'll just be Hinata and I. I want to avoid bringing as much attention to Hinata as possible. The rebel movements are still at large."

Naruto smiled, "I agree. Good it's settled then. The Cloud are awaiting for our response first but I can organise it around your schedule."

Hinata nodded, "I'll talk to the Elders first and get back to you as soon as possible… Then if we're done, I'll take my leave."

Hinata bowed and left the office leaving Naruto and Sasuke alone.

"Don't misunderstand me Sasuke… I hate sending her there too but my hands are tied."

Sasuke clicked his tongue, "I'm just being… **_over protective. _**You'll also recall that the Cloud village aren't too fond of me. I don't want Hinata to be jeopardised just because of our relationship."

"It's in the past Sasuke…I'm positive the Cloud won't try anything. It's being outside the Kage villages that worries me. Like you said, the rebel movement is quite active still. You'll both need to be careful."

Xxx

**Once again thanks for reading and I'll see you all again the next time I update! xxx**


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